


A bundle in your lap

by Indehed



Series: Lullaby Bay [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-03-18 13:31:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 57,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3571421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indehed/pseuds/Indehed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The press think Danny's pregnant again, he's adamant he's not. But when he starts to feel different inside, he thinks he better check to make sure.<br/>As he and Steve navigate the possibility of a new child entering their lives, they must also struggle with the stress and difficulty of male pregnancies. It's rare that babies carried by men reach full term unscathed, and they already have Leo. The odds are stacked against them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Danny was exhausted. The house was bedecked in balloons and banners, the people had been happy and loud and now, blessedly, gone. Steve was outside with a trash bag, the kids were in their rooms.

Danny had collapsed onto the couch and was trying to get his breath back.

Leo had just turned one year old. Hard to believe.

He'd been back in Hawaii and into a relationship with Steve that seemed to be turning out well, even if they spent a great deal of time house-hopping. He'd been back at work for four of those months and Leo was enjoying himself at daycare or with a couple of Aunties who had been happy to consider themselves as part-time nannies to Leo. And to Grace, though at thirteen, she insisted she could take on the odd babysitting duty herself, though they were loathe to leave the kids alone for more than an hour or two, and only during the daytime when they were safely in one of the houses with copious rules about what not to do.

Danny was just getting comfortable with his eyes closed when his arm was slapped. "You planning on giving me a hand any time soon?"

"I'm tired out." He could hear the whine in his own voice.

"Well, get over it. This house won't clean itself."

"It was your idea to have the party. You clean it up."

"It's your house."

"Damnit," Danny said, rolling himself off the couch and pushing up to stand, taking the offered trash bag and throwing all the cans and paper plates he could find straight into it.

It seemed everyone but Steve was tired out after the day they'd had. Grace was out like a light, which was strange for her as she usually liked to sit in bed and read for a while before going to sleep. Leo had been overstimulated, and getting him down that night was easier than usual as well. There was no crying about being left in his cot in his own room now, instead, there had been peace and quiet from the moment they closed over the door.

Finally finished cleaning, Danny had collapsed into bed, intend on instantly sleeping the moment he closed his eyes, but there were lips pressing wet kisses to his shoulder, the bed dipped, a hand floated down his side and began to push at the waistband of his sleep pants. The kisses moved into his neck and up behind his ear.

"Seriously?" Danny asked, eyes still firmly closed, but he was beginning to fidget with want at the intimacy.

"I'm taking advantage of the quiet," Steve practically whispered into his ear before tugging the lobe.

"To do what?" Danny asked, finally opening his eyes only to look up at Steve's, dark and wide and smiling. 

"My partner," Steve grinned, trying not to laugh at his own joke before he straddled Danny. He was naked, his cock was already getting hard and Danny didn't know where to put his hands but he was awake enough still to know he wanted to put them everywhere on that gorgeous body.

"Come here," Danny beckoned and Steve was all too happy to oblige, his dark figure cutting out the light as he kissed Danny, slow, sensual, taking his time in a way they weren't always able to indulge with the kids around. Danny couldn't help the moan of satisfaction that came out as Steve stretched himself over him, their cocks rubbing, divided as they were by the soft material of his pants.

He pushed them down, his body shimmying against Steve as he did so and the other man broke away from their kisses long enough to help until they were both naked. Steve took his time, mouthing down over Danny's torso, stopping at nipples, tickling over the bottom of his ribs and reverently kissing his stomach; a stomach that was back in shape from the birth, with Danny working out before returning to work and then spending his life chasing after criminals - and Steve - on a regular basis. 

Danny braced his hand in Steve's hair just before his wet mouth engulfed his cock, one long suck before he pulled off, licking up the shaft, tonguing the slit. Dexterous fingers moved him into positions so that his tongue could lave up and down, lower to his balls and back up again, covering the tip and sucking before descending again. 

He didn't want to buck up into the feel, seeking out more but it was impossible not to and Steve had to control him with hands on Danny's hips. His mouth popped off with an obscene sound and he licked his lips before slinking back up Danny's body. He kissed him hard, wet, open as a hand reached to the side to get into the drawer and grab lube. 

Taking that familiar journey back down Danny's body, he licked and sucked at his cock again but pushed Danny's legs further apart and cool fingers pressed for entry. Danny was aroused enough that he willed his body to relax quickly into it, the tenseness in him was anticipation rather than anything else and everything in him was centered on that part of his body. One finger became two, then three.

Steve, on his knees, moved around the bed, pushing Danny onto his side and raising his leg before lying down next to him, lining them up. There was the sound of lube being generously smeared over his cock and then he was kissing Danny's shoulder again. 

Danny wrapped his arm back, feeling down Steve's side, his hip and down to his dick. He frowned as he touched him, while Steve threw his head back and groaned.

"Wait, no condom?" 

"We're out," Steve said back.

"That's not a good idea, I could-"

"You're on new suppressants right? Since you had Leo they gave you that new one."

"Sure," he said though the argument still wasn't a great one considering he got pregnant while on birth control before, but then he felt the tip of Steve's cock nudging at his ass. "Fuck it," he said, without thinking of consequences, without caring because he just wanted what he wanted. He helped Steve push into him, guiding his cock slowly while Steve grasped onto his hip. "Oh, that feels good."

"Yeah, it does, it feels so good," Steve pushed Danny's leg higher again, pressed into his back in a way that made Danny turn more to the bed and he slipped out a little, sending frissons of need through both of them. "God, I love you," Steve twisted Danny's head to him. It pulled on their neck muscles, but it allowed them to kiss and it felt heavenly to do it in this position, allowing them this intimate contact while everything lower was dirtier, filthier, primal and about the sex and the need.

"Fuck me, huh? Come on, Steve, fuck me, let me feel you."

Steve always rose to the challenge, determined to make it good for them, better than the last, always needed to be better than the last and never disappointed. He jerked his hips on every thrust, following it with a grunt that sent shivers through Danny. He hooked an arm under Danny's and round his shoulder, pulling him back closer to him as each thrust drove him away. "That's it, baby, you're gonna make me come."

Danny's free hand started jerking his own cock, trying to match the strokes with Steve's, feeling the faltering in his rhythm as he tried to drive deeper to get himself off inside Danny. He bit Danny's shoulder as he came deep inside him, hips still unable to stop their momentum, but slowing down.

When Steve began to breathe again it was to talk dirty into Danny's ear in a low, commanding voice. "That's it, get all that cum out of me, you always make me come so hard." He placed his hand on top of Danny's and kept his dick inside him, lazily thrusting his half hard cock back into him, aiming for his prostate as he helped Danny jerk himself, slowing the moves down, making them more languid and fluid, twisting their hands over his cock, ghosting over the head.

"Fuck, Steve, make me come, too, don't be such a bastard," he tried to threaten but it came out in more of a whimper. 

Steve laughed a little, but gave Danny what he wanted, knowing enough to know what he liked best, and it wasn't long before their hands were wetted by Danny's cum. Steve brought a hand to his mouth, licking it, then trailing his fingertips back down Danny's arm and to where they were still connected.

He carefully pulled out, aware that Danny was feeling sensitive from the movements and he sat up to watch. "Give it a second," he said, then he pulled Danny's cheeks apart to get a better look at his hole and after a moment his cum began to trickle back out. "There it is." He swirled a finger through it and pushed it back in, only to watch it come back out again.

He patted Danny's ass then laid his head next to Danny's, letting him turn onto his back finally, even if it was into a growing wet patch.

"You know I don't mind, but what's with the whole 'cream pie' thing you have?"

Steve shrugged as his hand played lazy patterns over Danny's torso. "I just like knowing it's mine."

"Well, we all have our kinks, I guess."

Steve sighed and agreed. "Just like you and my uniforms."

"That's not a kink," Danny brandished a finger in the air between them. "That is a healthy appreciation."

"Whatever you say, baby," Steve cuddled closer to him, adjusting how his head was by Danny's shoulder as Danny pulled the sheet up and over their bodies.

*

They took separate cars to work, even if they were at the same house overnight (which was almost all the nights). Before Colombia and Leo, Danny used to show up at Steve's and they'd go to work together, but now? Now they seemed to have worked out that having both cars meant it was easier to separate if the job called for it - Steve in his Silverado, Danny in the Camaro.

As Danny arrived to work that morning, he was greeted with smiles and the odd congratulations. He couldn't piece together why. Had they just had a conviction in one of their cases or something? Had he been promoted and he didn't know about it or given some other kind of accolade? He didn't think so. It was odd, but he smiled and thanked people as he passed.

When he got to the office, he ducked his head into Steve's with a confused look on his face. "Hey, so has anyone been acting weird around you today?"

"Huh?" Steve looked up from his computer. "I don't think so, why?"

"Maybe it's just me then," he turned to go to his own office but then decided to look back at Steve. "Are you sure? Did we win something or…?"

"I'm sure I'd know if we did."

"It's disconcerting," he said. 

"Why is that?"

"Because they're happy. People are happy. I don't like it."

"People are happy," Steve repeated slowly, turning the words over his tongue wondering why they seemed to be strange when put together.

"That's what I said. Smiling and being nice to me."

"People aren't allowed to be nice to you?"

"Well, I-"

"Hey, guys!" Kono called as she came in the door. She skipped over to them, smiling all the way. She hugged Danny's shoulders from behind. "I'm so happy for you."

"You see?" Danny pointed over his shoulder only for it to be hit a moment later. 

"But I'm mad you didn't tell us first."

Danny turned and leaned on the door frame. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh come on," Kono snorted than gave him a quizzical look that she turned to Steve. "Really? No way."

"I brought the cigars, where's the happy couple!" Lou's voice boomed through the room when he and Chin arrived together. He waved the cigars in the air as they walked in to join everyone in Steve's office. Danny had retreated over to the desk and was leaning back on it, while Kono came just inside the door and crossed her arms. 

"They're acting clueless, like they didn't think people would notice."

"Notice what?" Danny asked, exasperated.

"Uh, that," Chin began and then pointed at Danny's stomach. He reflexively spread a hand over it. 

"What?" Danny looked up again and then it dawned on him. "Ah, no, I don't think so. Where did you even get the idea?"

"Idea about what?" Steve asked, still sitting behind his desk, watching everyone.

"Do you guys even read the news?" Chin asked with a raised eyebrow.

Danny straightened and then looked him dead in the eye. "I have a one year old, a thirteen year old and a…" he waved his hand behind him, indicating Steve. "A thirty-eight year old to deal with. And you ask me if I have time to read a newspaper?"

"Point taken," Chin conceded. "But maybe today you should have. Come on," he beckoned them out and they gathered around the computer table like they would for a case. After running a search, Chin ran his fingers over the board to make the images appear on the screens. On them was the _Honolulu Magazine_ website and one article in particular with a splash heading of 'Five-0 fathers expecting again!'

They even had pictures. A few gathered from the last week, maybe further back, of Steve and Danny together. There was one at a crime scene of Steve with his hand over Danny's stomach. It looked how it looked, but Danny knew it was actually Steve holding him back from going to tell a mother that her son had died and saying he'd do it himself. There was another one of Danny holding his own stomach as they left Kamekona's after having lunch. He'd just been full from eating, nothing more. And then another of them, Steve's arm around Danny from behind and splayed over his stomach, taken at the Governor's swanky ball from the weekend before. 

The article was full of speculation, filled mostly with talk of how they already had a child and how healthy he was and how good Danny looked in pregnancy, which Danny took. A compliment was a compliment, even if the situation wasn't true. He skimmed the bits that discussed male pregnancies in general and the low success rate. It gave a nod to the religious side of it and the whole 'the successful ones are blessed' crap. 

His true worry was the photos. Had they been followed? He thought himself a better judge of a tail. Though the one from the ball was likely taken by press who attended the event to promote it. The crime scene one? Well, press tended to get to those when they could and sometimes, Five-0 were still on scene. As for the lunch one, it looked more like it may have been from a phone camera and was likely just sent in or published somewhere on social media and the magazine had grabbed it to help their story.

"Just perfect," Danny bowed his head as he leaned on the table. He turned to see Steve engrossed in the article, the corners of his mouth turned up in a half smiled but he smothered it when he saw the others looking at him.

"Well, it's not true," he said. "Right?" He turned to Danny, an expectant look on his face but his eyes were wide, hopeful.

"Not true," Danny reiterated. "I'd know if I were, trust me."

"Exactly. So we'll issue a statement refuting it before any other local news outlets pick it up and that'll be that."

He walked away from them and Danny patted Chin's shoulder as he passed him and followed Steve into his office. "What was all that about?"

"All what?"

"You just stomped off like someone had stolen your favorite toy. What gives?"

"Nothing," Steve had begun typing but leaned back in his seat as he gave in. "Really, it's nothing. I just… for a second there, while I read all that I thought what it would be like if it was true. I indulged a little and then when I had to push that idea aside, I felt, I don't know… a little bit sad. That's all."

"We talked about this," Danny said as he sat on the couch nearby, leaning an elbow on the arm of the chair.

"No, we _said_ we'd talk about it. We never actually got around to it."

"I know you want to go through the whole thing, but… I mean, I'm on the edge of what they consider a safe age for men having kids. It's a risk, and we already have Leo, and I know you love Grace like she was your own."

"I know all that, but I have the fantasy of the two of us getting to go through it together and I think it would be great to have another one."

"Uh-huh. Well, the odds are low regardless… my age, my gender… and I don't have proper 'cycles' considering I'm on hormonal suppressants and birth control that would take a while to be purged from my system to make things more viable so it's not like it would happen anytime soon. By the time it _were_ possible, I'd probably be forty and that, buddy, is pretty much the limit on male pregnancy. Even if we both really wanted it right now, I doubt it could happen."

"And you don't want it."

"I don't _**not**_ want it. But I don't want it either," Danny sighed, rubbing his head, knowing he likely didn't make sense. "I'm not chomping at the bit to make a baby, I'm settled with what we have."

"I know. And I get it," Steve began typing again. "But it would be nice. That's all I'm saying."


	2. Chapter 2

_'Recent rumors have left Honolulu a-buzz with the prospect of a blessed male pregnancy in the city. Commander Steve McGarrett and partner Detective Danny Williams of Hawaii's Five-0 task force already have one year old Frederick, with Williams fathering daughter Grace in a previous marriage._

_Last week, the couple refuted the rumors in a statement, despite photographs of the loved up pair certainly giving the impression that they were expecting, stating they had no plans at the moment for further children. Since that statement it seems however that they continue to court the rumors and their veracity, with instances of a glowing Williams being mother-henned by McGarrett, as this new footage shows._

_Should the couple choose to have another child, there is no doubt Hawaii would welcome the good news with open arms, but there would, of course, be a great risk involved. Though their young son is an example of what can happen, that is no indicator of a second, healthy child being born into the family. Thirty-eight year old Williams may be-'_

Danny shut off the TV and laid back on the couch. For the last few days he'd been grouchy and tired. Worn down. He hated being sick and he thought he might be fighting off the flu, but he kept powering through, downing Tylenol and DayQuil and hoping it didn't get any worse. He had too much stuff to do to get sick, but luckily it was a Saturday and there had been no calls bringing them in on a case so he'd been able to try and relax and feel better. But there was only so much relaxing he could do when he considered what needed done in the house.

Case in point, the child who was now crying for attention after waking from his afternoon nap.

He plodded into Leo's room, picking him out of his cot and putting him down on the ground. He immediately waddled to pick up his favorite book - one of the ones with buttons to make the noises as you read. Leo just loved the funny noises it made and giggled every time some of them were pressed. "Come on, little bear, let's go play in the living room," Danny gestured for him and after a moment of long stares and encouragement, Leo got moving, stumbling on his way as they slowly made their way to his play area in the corner of the room under the window.

He turned random pages of the book, for the sensation of doing so rather than knowing anything really about what was on the pages, and instead pressed the colorful buttons down the side and listened to the animal sounds they emitted. 

Danny kept one eye on him, but he was back on the couch and trying to rest with the TV on low in the background with an old ice hockey game playing.

Leo appeared in front of him, attempting to scale the heights of the sofa and failing miserably, needing help to get on. He stomped over it, his foot digging into sensitive areas of Danny's anatomy a few times as he clambered over his father. Then he grabbed Danny's phone; which luckily now had an extra hard case around it to withstand the antics of a small child with a limited attention span. One thing Leo was working out already was how to flip through the photos, so long as someone loaded up the app for him. He was fascinated with the device, probably copying his big sister, since there were times she was glued to the thing and he liked watching her.

Danny would mourn the loss of days when kids played with real toys, or cardboard boxes or sticks, but if the phone gave him a few minutes of peace while Leo was entranced with what he was doing, then it was fine by him. So now he was wedged at the back of the sofa, sucking on his pacifier and turning the phone around in his tiny hands.

"What are you doing, Leo? You looking at pictures? Come here," he beckoned. "Come up here and show me."

Leo took his time. He made a gurgling sound as he considered whether to climb up his father or not and eventually settled on yes. As he moved, Danny lifted himself higher and let Leo sit in his lap. He turned him around so they could both look at the phone and he took over, showing Leo special photos, using them to try and get Leo talking more, emphasizing the names of everyone in the pictures. He had 'dada' down but there was no distinction yet between Steve and Danny when he said it. Grace had somehow become something that sounded like 'gaga' but she was happy with it and kept threatening to wear a bacon dress for Halloween.

"What time is it huh? Will we check?" He came out of the photos and put up the clock on the screen. "What does that say? That first is a one and a four, that's fourteen and the next bit says a two and a two, that's twenty-two, which means we need to get you ready to go visit Auntie Kono. She wants to take you somewhere fun. Come on," he twisted them, got his feet planted on the ground and held tightly to Leo as he stood. 

He gathered together all the things he thought the little one would need, all stuffed in a big bag that would be kept on the bottom of the stroller, but that was folded up and ready for Leo's adventure. 

The doorbell rang at half-past and he shouted for Kono to let herself in. She immediately went for Leo, making him giggle with glee at her happiness and just her in general as she took the heavy bundle he was becoming into her arms. 

"This isn't dangerous, right? He's not actually going near the water. No baby surfing."

She rolled her eyes. "It's a surfing meet up group, but we get coffee and chat while the kids play. We won't be anywhere near the beach."

"Okay, well, you know he likes exploring so don't lose track of him or he'll find his own way to the water. He's turning out far too much like Steve for my blood pressure to handle."

"Thanks again for letting me borrow him. With my friends all having babies these days I feel left out whenever we meet up. Shamelessly using your gorgeous son helps even the playing field a little."

"You know, you could just have one of your own."

"Adam and I are fine right now. I mean, he wants children, and I do, too, just not quite yet."

"I get that," Danny stroked Leo's cheek, turning his head to look at him. "Have fun with Auntie Kono. Don't make trouble, okay?" He kissed the baby's head and then waved them off. Leo fussed as they went away without Danny, but he waved from the door as Kono got him settled in her car and he knew that once they got to the park, Leo would be perfectly happy playing to worry about daddy not going with them.

He closed the door behind him, realizing he was now alone in the house and he collapsed back down onto the couch, not caring about the mountain of laundry, or the dishes or anything else.

He got about five minutes of peace before the door was practically kicked open, Steve standing there with what looked like ten grocery bags in his arms and determination on his face to get everything inside in just one trip. He even had one bag held in his teeth. Danny put his hand over his head, trying to quell the growing headache as Steve made as much noise as possible getting everything into the kitchen and dropping it all on the table. There was the sound of cupboard doors banging open and shut, the fridge complaining that it had been open too long with beeps and then eventually Steve reemerged.

"How are you feeling now?"

"A part of me just wants to die," Danny responded, succumbing a little more to his case of the grumps and the tension headache he had building.

"Grace texted me, asked if she could have dinner at Lucy's tonight. I said it was fine so long as it was okay with Lucy's mom, which it apparently is. She said she tried to get you but you didn't answer. Where's your phone?"

"No idea," Danny answered. "You know Leo gets his hands on it, it could be anywhere."

"Uh-huh," Steve dug his hand down at the back of the couch in the fold by Danny's hip and produced the item in question.

"Like I said, could be anywhere," Danny responded, jerking up a little as Steve dropped it onto his stomach.

"Up, sit up a little," Steve motioned and Danny did as he was asked, albeit reluctantly. He had to shimmy down further as Steve took his place in the corner and beckoned Danny back to lie on him, bracketed by his legs. He got comfortable as Steve placed one arm around his middle and the other soothed back his hair. "Whatever it is you're fighting off, don't be giving it to me," he kissed Danny's head.

Maybe it wasn't flu. Could be a virus. It didn't honestly feel like flu and he'd been feeling this way for so many days now that he either wanted it to back down and retreat, or just make him sick and get it over with, fighting it was the more tiring and annoying thing. Of course, it could just be from being busy. They'd had a heavy caseload recently, Leo was in a loud and noisy stage of development, Grace had thrown a strop yesterday about how Danny always had to contact the school about security for school trips rather than just signing the permission form like normal parents did and the press were still periodically contacting them over all the rumors of his pregnancy. It seemed that despite denying it, there were people out there who either didn't believe them or didn't get the message.

Maybe he wasn't really ill at all, maybe he was subconsciously trying to hide from the attention.

Steve's hand was doing lazy circles over his stomach, fingers had begun pushing the material of his t-shirt up so he could get to warm skin instead, and he rubbed idly, low on his belly. Danny looked down and watched the movement, getting quite hypnotized by the repetition.

Steve had been doing that a lot recently - concentrating on Danny's stomach. Since the pregnancy rumors that were going on for two weeks now, and since they'd talked a little more about it, Steve was a bit more clingy, a bit more attentive. It was all going to his head whether he realized it or not, and that part of him that wanted the fantasy of Danny being pregnant again was being expressed.

He should nip it in the bud, remind Steve that he wasn't pregnant, that there wasn't a baby growing inside him, that he was just feeling worn down and that was affecting his mood. He'd know if he was pregnant, he'd told everyone that before. He'd just know. He'd known the first time, too. Eventually. After the morning sickness had started and he'd had his epiphany about it all, putting two and two together with his grouchiness, tiredness, this feeling in the pit of his stomach…

Oh no.

Oh no, no, no, he was not thinking that, he was not going there. 

It was ridiculous. He wasn't sick, not in that way. When did morning sickness start? It was into the second month last time and there was just no way. But he'd been feeling terrible before the morning sickness had started and the symptoms…

He was being stupid. He wouldn't be thinking like this if it wasn't for those press articles or the way Steve had been acting and bringing up the subject. It was in his head, that was all, so of course his mind would consider it.

And discard it. Because no. He was on stronger birth control. 'Better', they'd said, since he'd managed to get pregnant while on them before. Of course, it wasn't unheard of. He had a cousin who had managed it twice, despite being on the pill. But she was scatterbrained enough to forget to take it regularly and Danny had an implant so there was no worry about that.

But it _had_ happened before.

Except last time, Danny hadn't told Steve about himself, so Steve hadn't worried about condoms and such sometimes, and Danny hadn't either, figuring his suppressants were working and one or two times didn't matter. They were much safer about things these days…

Oh. But they ran out of condoms last month and had done it a few times without. It was dumb, it was so very dumb but he'd got caught up in the moment and it wasn't often they could be spontaneous with the sex and it had been a few days before they'd had time to go buy more and damn the excuses, it had been stupid.

"You're tensing up. You okay?" Steve interrupted his thoughts.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"About what?"

He had an opportunity to say but if he did and Steve got the wrong idea, got excited and he was wrong about his gut instinct…. "Just… everything," he said, not really explaining at all.

"Well, turn this thing off," fingers tapped against his head. "I'd distract you in other ways while we have the house to ourselves, but it's probably better to wait until you feel up to it."

Danny thought about it for a moment.

If he was pregnant then their lives would be busier with less opportunity to enjoy alone time like this. It was one of the reasons he'd said he was perfectly happy with two kids. He didn't want to waste the chances they had.

He trailed a hand down to meet Steve's where it still rested comfortably low on his stomach and he pushed it until it was under the waistband of his jeans. He popped the button and lowered the zip and then went back to pushing it further.

"What're you doing?" Steve asked, a playful lilt to his voice.

"Maybe we can try," Danny encouraged, leaving Steve's hand inside his underwear, covering his cock. He rolled his hips into the touch but Steve was still reluctant to do much while he thought Danny wasn't feeling well.

"You know I would spend every free moment we have getting you naked and having as much sex as possible, but if you're really not into it, then there's no point." He took his hand back out after a few gentle strokes. 

Danny groaned at the rejection, but he was glad Steve did what he did, because he was right, and Danny knew he was too uncomfortable to enjoy it. He flipped himself around on top of Steve and kissed him lightly before settling back down over his chest.

"Maybe just a nap will work wonders," he mumbled against him, his own hand slipping between their bodies protectively curling over his own stomach.

*

He didn't want to panic over it, give himself away. And a day wasn't going to make a difference, so he waited until Sunday morning rolled around before forcing himself groggily out of bed around 10am and thinking up excuses to run out to the store.

Which he'd managed, even if he wasn't sure it would convince himself, but he said he was going to the nearest CVS to stock up on Tylenol or to see if there was something stronger he could get to combat how he was feeling and off he'd gone, leaving Steve entertaining Leo and Grace doing whatever she was doing in her room.

He picked up a few things, not wanting to buy only two pregnancy tests and he had chucked in the pain relievers just in case he needed to show Steve what he'd bought. 

When he got home, he'd waved a hello, and headed straight to the bedroom, immediately taking the two kits out of the bag, leaving the rest on the bed and rushing into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

He was going to use both. One kit could say anything, he felt he needed to be sure.

When he looked at the result of the first one, he squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to think anything until the second one was done. He chucked the first in the small garbage can by the sink and tried the second one. 

He sat on the toilet seat waiting, his knee bouncing with anticipation, maybe a hint of resignation, of worry, of being overwhelmed by what might be happening. He looked down at the result and a wave of anger spread through him.

He rushed into the living room. Steve was coming back out from Grace's room and there was no sign of Leo, so the kids must be together. Steve just stood there, looking relaxed and perfectly normal and it made Danny want to explode.

"I'm going to ask you a question, and I want an honest answer, no matter if it sounds ridiculous or not," he said, keeping calm, breathing to keep his emotions in check. 

"Okay, sounds serious," Steve started to frown. 

"When you were in the Navy, did they, I don't know, experiment on you or something? All that macho 'be the best' crap, did they take it literally and do things to try and make you into super soldiers... or sailors... or whatever?"

"Danny, where's this coming from?"

"I asked for an answer," Danny growled. 

"No, they didn't. Not that I knew of, anyway."

"Okay," Danny paced away. "Okay, I guess maybe you're just some freak of nature or something. That has to be it."

"Danny, what are you talking about? You're still not feeling well, you shouldn't get agitated-"

"Oh, I'm agitated, but I'm not sick, okay? Not sick, just…"

"What are you holding?" Steve asked, his voice taking on a stunned tone, like he was anticipating what Danny might say, holding out hope, not wanting to be wrong.

Danny looked down to where his fist was still gripping tightly to the pregnancy test, his thumb over the little positive sign on it. He lifted it and threw it at Steve, putting everything he had behind it, watching Steve protect himself as it bounced off him and landed on the floor. "That is the result of your- Urgh! This is your fault!" he yelled.

"Danny, take it down a notch, the kids will hear you," he said as he bent to pick it up. 

Danny growled again, turned on his heel and stomped to the bedroom, where he shoved the bag of medication aside, clambered onto the bed and collapsed face first into the pillow. He was drained and he'd only been angry for a few minutes and now he was just… God, he was exhausted from just that.

"This… if I'm reading this right it says positive. It's a pregnancy test and it says positive. You're pregnant?" Steve asked from the doorway, his voice quiet, awed. When Danny didn't respond, the bottom corner of the bed dipped and Steve's voice was closer. "You really are pregnant again?"

Danny grumbled and flipped himself over, staring up at the ceiling as he just breathed. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You and your fucking super sperm have done it again. I can't believe this."

Steve crawled closer to sit beside him. "Danny, this is incredible."

"Do not, Steven," he held a finger up, pointing at him. "Don't get excited, it's just a home test. Two, whatever, and early on there's the possibility of losing it and you shouldn't get so happy until, I dunno, until it's born and everything's okay and it might not be, I mean, it could die. Or I could die. Or we both, I mean-" Danny was silenced by a kiss.

When Steve pulled back, Danny reached above his head, grabbed the pillow from underneath him and covered his face, muffling any scream he was tempted to make. God, were his hormones at it already? He could feel tears welling up inside him.

Steve gently removed the pillow and put it aside. "Hey," he said, calmly. Reassuringly. How could he be so calm?

"Steve, I am so fucking scared, you have no idea," he practically whispered, not wanting to voice it but it came out anyway.

Steve cupped his face and gave him such a loving look it was hard to stay mad at him. "Danno, you are the strongest man I know, and the best father. If anyone deserves to get through this, it's you. Whether there's some higher being who keeps blessing us or not, I know you too well, partner. You've got this, okay? And by the end of it, we're going to have another beautiful little baby to raise together."

Danny curled into Steve, hugging into him as they half sat, half lay on the bed. "We need to call the Clinic in New York," he said into Steve's neck and felt the man tense up.

"You want to go back there?"

"They need to send my files to the one here. I need to make an appointment, need to talk to them."

"Okay, that's fine, I'll take care of it," he pulled back from their embrace and smiled widely at Danny. "We're going to have a new baby." He reached a hand down to Danny's stomach, the backs of his fingers caressing over his t-shirt.

"Yeah, we are," Danny placed his hand over Steve's and looked back up at him, a smile finally breaking on his lips and a choked laugh of repressed emotion fell out of him.

Steve ducked lower, lifted Danny's t-shirt and pressed his lips to his tummy. He spoke against him. "Hello, bean, I'm your other daddy and I can't wait to watch you grow. I'm going to be right beside Danno the whole time, you'll see." He kissed against him again, soft butterfly kisses all around him, tickling against Danny as he lay back down on the bed, letting Steve do what he wanted with a gentle hand in his hair.

Steve laid his head carefully over the top of Danny's thighs, his hand stayed on Danny's stomach, skimming his fingertips over him in smooth strokes.

"I'm right here," he stated quietly.

Danny craned his neck a little to see the dream-like look on Steve's face. "We know."


	3. Chapter 3

When Monday morning rolled around, they got Grace off to school, bundled Leo off to daycare and called Chin to let him know Steve was taking Danny to the doctors since he 'still wasn't feeling 100%'.

A few hours of tests and conversation later and it was confirmed that Danny was indeed pregnant again and Steve's excitement had been tempered by the severe warnings the doctor had issued about what Danny might expect in the coming months.

Steve was still giddy as all could be, still eager and taking all the positives that he could, but he'd had some sense knocked into him over the dangers involved and Danny could see the wheels turning in the man's head, see him considering the options, how to treat Danny, what to prepare. There was SEAL operational logistics going on and though that might help put Danny's mind at ease about a lot of things, he also braced himself for an onslaught of over-protectiveness. He could sense it coming a mile off.

They drove to HQ together and Steve sat back in the seat and looked over at Danny before getting out. "You want to do this now? Tell them? We can wait if you'd like."

"I doubt you have the patience or the poker face for that. We'll tell them now, tell Grace and Leo tonight. We'll worry about the press later on."

"Okay," Steve patted Danny's thigh, tickled his fingers against his stomach as he drew his hand back and they headed inside. 

Steve pushed through the door, grabbing the attention of everyone inside. "Lou, you still got those cigars handy?" he asked with a grin.

"I do, they're in my office," the big man turned and leaned on the computer table. "Can I ask what the occasion is?"

Steve put his arm around Danny's shoulder. "Turns out everyone was right. I did it again," he pointed at Danny's stomach and Danny elbowed him back in his.

"Congratulations, man, both of you," Lou shook their hands and headed to go get the offered cigars while Kono gave a high pitched, cut-off screech. 

"For real this time?" She asked. At Danny's confirming nod, she clapped her hands and then leaned down to look at Danny's stomach. "The little thing must be so tiny. How far along are you?" she looked back up at them while Chin was giving Steve a one-armed hug.

"About six weeks," he answered, refraining from enlightening them to how well they could pinpoint the conception back to around Leo's first birthday. And that was something Leo was never going to find out about, unless they really wanted to embarrass him some day.

"So all this time," she began, wondering if they'd been lying to everyone.

"We didn't know for sure until today. And I only began to suspect over the weekend, we had no idea," he assured her.

"I guess that means things will be changing up around here again," Chin said.

"Not for a while," Danny preempted Steve. "I won't be taking leave until I hit six months, that's the latest I can wait before I'll need to go to the Clinic more often, probably move in full time. They want to monitor me closely. All sorts of reasons," he waved off, not wanting to go into the technical stuff. Besides, he didn't really want to think about it - it was the kind of thing that stressed him out and the baby needed him to be calmer in its early development.

"We'll switch up some of the partnering. Danny will hang back during potential serious situations, not take part in take downs, that kind of thing," Steve said to everyone as Lou handed cigars to everyone but Danny.

Danny bit his lip at Steve's words. "I'd argue but I know I won't win so there's no point."

"I think we all agree with Steve on this one," Chin cocked an eyebrow. "And I'm sure the Governor would as well."

"Which is why I'm not putting up any resistance to it, I know everyone will worry about me, I get it. I'm worried about myself," he admitted. 

"Everything's going to be great. You'll see," Kono threw her arm around him as they forgot about work for a while and celebrated.

*

Danny had texted Grace, asking her to come straight home from school that day with no side trips for Shave Ice with her friends. She'd said she would, and she and Steve were sitting on the couch with Leo when she came in. 

Her eyes widened, thinking back to if she might have done something to get in trouble for and not finding anything obvious.

"Sit down, monkey. Uncle Steve and I want to have a chat with you."

She carefully sat between them where Danny had patted. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, sweetie, nothing like that. We just need to talk about something important," Steve answered as he bounced Leo on his knee.

"Okay," she said carefully. "What's going on?"

"Well, you know how there are all those people who keep asking if I'm going to have another baby?"

She nodded. "You said it wasn't true. That they made it up."

"I did, and I meant it. But things change and it turns out that it's true after all. I'm pregnant again."

"You are?" She asked, looking between them both. 

"It's early days, it might not work out."

"But we're going to do everything we can to make sure it does," Steve put in. 

She frowned. "Does that mean you have to go away again, Danno?"

"No, monkey, I'm staying right here. There's a Clinic in Waikiki that I can go to rather than all the way in New York, and the situation is less complicated this time."

She rolled her eyes as he spoke and then sat there, blankly. Danny leaned forward, rubbing his hands together then trapping them between his knees. "Listen, we know this is a lot to take in. And there's gonna be changes again for the whole family. It's okay to not be happy about it, to need time to process it all."

"It's not that, Danno. I'm fine with it. I'm just thinking."

"What about?"

"I was talking with Apane earlier before math class, and he said one of the reasons he liked me was because my life was really complicated but that I seemed so chilled about it. But he said it's not really than I'm chill with it, but that I'm strong enough to deal with it."

Danny shifted back, looking around Grace to catch Steve's eye, concerned. He then faced Grace again. "When your mother and I split, the last thing we ever wanted was to make things difficult for you. I know that we haven't always done a good job with that."

"It's okay, Danno. Before now I never really thought of it like that. It's just how things were," she shrugged. "You got divorced and got married again to different people-"

"Steve and I aren't married."

She darted a look at Steve then back to Danny and gave him a withering look he could swear she learned from Rachel. "Close enough. And now, I've got a five year old half-brother on mom's side, and a one year old half-brother on this side and now another one coming. Can it be a girl this time? Please?"

"You know it doesn't work that way. It'll be what it'll be, we've got no say in it."

"I know but I really hope it's a girl. Are we going to move in together properly now? You said it depended on how serious you and Uncle Steve got and now you're having another baby with him, it makes sense. Three houses is a lot," she said with a pout and Danny's heart went out to her. As much as he never wanted it, as much as they did shield her from 'complicated', it was certainly not helping when she had three bedrooms in three houses and constantly had to remember what she had where and not to forget things she needed for school or hobbies. Not to mention when she stayed at Stan's place in Las Vegas, even though that wasn't quite so often and mostly just during vacations.

"We'll see what we can do," he smiled, a hand ruffling through her hair. "You got homework?"

She nodded.

"Okay, go see what you can get done. I'm making Gran's lasagna for dinner tonight."

"Yes!" she replied and hugged him, turned to kiss Steve on the cheek then picked up her bag and bounded off to her room.

"She has a point, you know," Steve said. "And it's complicated for Leo as well and it's getting to a point where it's unnecessary."

"So how do we get around it? Because I can't stay at yours on a permanent basis, I'd go insane at nights there. And for once since coming to this Aloha infected island I've built something I like."

"You talked before about putting in an offer to buy. I think that's a great idea. I can move in here, rent out my place and the money from the rent can go towards paying the mortgage for here."

Danny collapsed back onto the sofa. "You'd do that? You'd give up your place, private beach and all to come here?"

Steve shrugged. "The beach is a five minute drive from here, it's not the end of the world. And the place would still be mine, we can make sure we still have access, it would just be rented out. I stay here more often than at home anyway, it wouldn't take long to move me in more permanently."

"So, we're doing this? We're taking that step?"

"I'm game if you are," Steve smirked.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny was tempted to crawl as he left the bathroom but instead, stood as straight as he could and stumbled back to the bedroom, narrowing his eyes when he saw Steve lying in the bed reading his baby book.

"Have I mentioned lately just how much I hate you?" He asked, the mint of his toothpaste overriding the sickness.

"You may have said something along those lines yesterday morning," he put his book down on his lap. "Are you sure you're okay? You've thrown up for five days straight. The book says all sorts of stuff about this, I'm confused."

"I think it's normal. It was last time," Danny climbed back into bed. "And it'll last quite a few weeks maybe, but before I kinda stopped with the spewing and just felt like shit for most of the day. It's supposed to be a good thing, I dunno. I'm just glad it's the weekend now and I don't have to juggle work with this."

"If you need the time off, then-"

"Stop it. It's fine."

"Seriously, Danny, if this is affecting the baby with you working through it then maybe you should sit it out. Just spend time with Leo and Grace."

"As much as spending time with my family is the best thing in the world, I refuse to let you use that against me. You've been angling at me sitting back more than we agreed to as it is. I don't need to always be the one at HQ running background checks and financials. That computer drives me nuts, I don't know how Chin can stand it."

"You know as well as I do that with Five-0, even just going to take a witness statement can be hazardous," he reached for Danny's belly and rubbed it, still trying to feel for what was inside even though it wasn't possible yet while it was still the size of a walnut.

"My point is, everyone works through pregnancy. I've known women who worked right up until a week before they were due to give birth."

"But you're a man. It's different for you, and you know that. It's not a weakness, it's just how things are. There's no point in risking the life and health of our baby over pride."

Danny grunted, somewhere between agreement and frustration and turned his head on the pillow so he could look at Steve. "Working helps, okay? It's a distraction, it's a purpose… and being there, knowing that I'm on the comms if nothing else, stops me stressing out waiting by the phone to be called and told you did something stupid without me there to tell you how crazy it is and talk you out of it and now you're lying in a hospital. And don't talk to me about this being what Rachel went through because I am the sensible one, okay? I never got shot until I met you. And you've been taken to Tripler so many times in the last five years, I've genuinely lost count."

Steve scooted down the bed, replacing his hand on Danny's tummy with his lips and kissing around the same area he always liked to think was right where his 'bean' was. "I have no intention of getting hurt."

"Yeah, well, maybe someone else _**intends**_ to hurt you."

Steve trailed his lips up the center of Danny's bare chest, getting himself braced over him as he made his way. He turned his head at Danny's neck, kissing, sucking; he licked over his jaw and Danny brought a hand to his hair.

"Sorry, babe, the only thing I'm up for right now is a box of saltines."

Steve waved Danny's assumptions aside and gave him a loving but determined look. "Stop worrying. About everything. All that stuff you've got swirling around inside this head of yours, just stop. It's for me to deal with, not you. Just you concentrate on being healthy and taking care of this little thing growing inside you."

"I'm not some delicate flower. I don't need you to be the big strong man who takes over my life."

Steve chose to ignore Danny's seriousness and scoffed instead. "Funny how I more or less did that from the first day we met, and you've never complained before."

"I've never- do you hear yourself? I complained all the time! I've been calling you a control freak for over five years and what, you thought it was a term of endearment?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"You are touched in the head. It better not be hereditary. If these kids of yours get anything from you besides good looks, I swear, I'll shoot you myself."

*

Danny had to check in at the Clinic twice a week. Right now they had decided on Monday and Thursday mornings. Once he got into his second trimester it would go up to three times a week and then they'd play it by ear for how often until they got to the more serious part of the third trimester. 

As much as he didn't wish he was a woman or anything, he did envy them their 'easy' pregnancies compared to what men went through - their bodies just not right for the challenge. Of course, some women joked about it like they would about man-flu and he never minded. After all, they went through a lot with pregnancy themselves and he had an acute sense of respect for that. It just sucked being a man and going through it as his body began trying to do things it physically couldn't do - his brain firing signals that fell on deaf ears and it screwed up his system. He just felt lucky to live in an age of birth control and advanced medical technology that helped the odds dramatically.

A couple of centuries ago and men who fell pregnant were most likely to die, along with their unborn children, nine times out of ten. Heck, in the dark ages of history, babies had to be cut out of the men in order for them to survive while the fathers perished. Which was why they were seen as men to be revered - giving their lives for their children. 

That had all improved, but only if regular health check ups were done and everything was monitored closely. Which is what both he and Steve were told to do. Danny was well aware from last time, though because he'd stayed inside the Clinic for the majority of his pregnancy, the doctors had taken care of that for him. And Steve? This was his first time and he was soaking up the doctor's advice like a sponge.

So when Danny exited into the waiting room on Monday morning, he wasn't shocked when Steve started in with the questions.

"Did you tell him about the sickness? What did he say?"

"He said it's fine."

"And the tiredness and the headache you got on Saturday night?"

"Perfectly normal."

"What about the twinge you got in your lower left abdomen on Friday afternoon-"

Danny stopped, spun on his heel and grabbed Steve by his biceps. "Everything is fine. Including my blood pressure, which surprises me considering what I put up with every day."

Steve just reached his hand to his back pocket. "Wait, let me just check there isn't anything else." He pulled out a notebook and began flicking through. 

Danny raised a hand and pointed. "What is that?"

"It's a notebook, Danny. With notes."

"No, that's a _proper_ notebook. The kind cops use for taking witness statements and keeping track of anything they might need to rely upon later in court. A notebook like the kind that has been in a pack in your desk drawer lying ignored for five years, since you decided it was easier to let us or HPD handle the paper trail while you asked a few questions then bounded off to go shoot something."

Steve shrugged. "Finally found a use for them."

"Finally found a- give it here, let me see that thing," Danny made a successful grab for it and his mouth fell open in shock when he saw what Steve had been writing in it. "Wait a minute, these aren't notes."

"Of course they are."

"Notes are when you leave messages on the fridge as a reminder to pick up milk from the store, or to say that Grace has cheerleading practice. Notes would be you writing down if you had a question for the doctor about what to expect or if something was normal or not."

"I did that," Steve peered forward to look at the page Danny was on. "See? Right here."

"Writing 'normal' with a question mark after it isn't notes. Steve, this is a diary of everything I do… what I eat or drink and when, where I am, how I'm feeling. You've got timestamps next to everything… you've listed household chemicals we've used for cleaning or cooking and I have no idea what your symbols beside them mean."

"That's ticks for ones that are perfectly safe, triangles if you need to be careful but can still use them and crosses for ones you need to stay away from entirely. I'm looking into alternatives, more eco-friendly ones to see if they're any better. Oh, also, you can't go anywhere near cats. Toxoplasmosis."

Danny gawped at Steve, whose face was a picture of innocence - that he was doing his job and doing it well and nothing would convince him otherwise. He decided on another tactic and took the few steps to the front desk and to Wendy sitting behind it. 

"Out of curiosity, if I wanted to get him into therapy, or maybe committed, would there be a lot of paperwork?"

Wendy stifled a laugh. "Sorry, Danny. There's mountains of it. I think it's probably going to better if you just let him do what he's doing for the next few months. His methods might prove useful."

"I was afraid you might say that. But please don't encourage him, he'll be insufferable for the rest of the day."

He turned back to Steve who was wearing his smug smile. "She said I'm useful."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Really? That's not what I heard. I heard the lesser of two evils," he weighed his hands up. "Putting up with you or filling out a ton of paperwork."

"Come here," Steve beckoned and once Danny was close enough he snatched his notebook back and then wrapped himself around Danny, kissing him lightly. 

He dropped to his knees, not caring if any of the staff were watching or not and spoke to Danny's belly. "Hey bean, do me a favor and tell Danno to shut up and let me take care of things." He pressed his ear against him and nodded along, while Danny rolled his eyes to the heaven's and gave a 'why me?' gesture. "Uh-huh," he stood back up. "Bean agrees with me."

"You got all that from my as yet nonexistent bump that's nurturing something the size of a marble."

"Yup," Steve put a hand on Danny's lower back and began guiding him out, giving a wave and smile to Wendy as they left.

*

Steve kept shooting Danny disapproving glances as he pulled his vest around himself and tightened it. 

"Careful with that, you'll squish my bean," he said and Danny was aware of the raised eyebrows of the people around them. Never had anyone expected to hear such a sentence come out of Steve's mouth.

"At this stage it's perfectly happy with confined spaces, unlike me," he answered pointedly.

"One of these days, I'm going to tell someone to wait in the car and they're actually going to do it," Steve grumped.

"Not today," Danny checked his gun and holstered it. "And before you go all Steve on us, can we at least try talking to the idiot keeping his own sister hostage inside that house? Please?"

"The sister might be in on it."

"Yes, she might but we're not going to assume that, and we're not going to risk it. It's maybe not her fault that her brother turned out to be a psycho, how about that."

"Lou has the most experience with hostage situations, he'll take the lead."

"Thank you," Danny replied.

A gunshot rang out from the house and without a moment's pause, Steve wrapped his arms around Danny, swinging him round in a 180 and down, shielding him with his own body and that of the Camaro as a second shot joined it.

Shouts from HPD to put a weapon down and then that everything was clear allowed Steve to pull back a little. "Danny? Danny!" He felt around the other man, mostly at his vest.

"Ow," Danny answered, shoving Steve away and sitting up, back to the wheel of the car. He lifted his hand where the palm had scraped across the ground and flicked out the little shards of gravel. He shook his wrist where it had taken the impact of Steve's tackle. "I think you sprained it, animal."

"What about-?" He knelt beside Danny, took off his glove and felt under the vest.

"Fine," Danny put his hand on Steve's arm. "What the hell was that? The gunshots came from inside, Steven. _**Inside**_."

Steve scowled. "I was thinking that you and bean in the same zip code as a gun firing is a bad idea." He shoved up from the ground, paced away towards where Chin was keeping an eye on them and then back to Danny, a hand rubbing over his face as he calmed down again. "That's it. You're riding a desk from now on."

He looked to Chin with pleading eyes but the stoic man just pointed at Steve. "I'm with him. And if you happen to run out of paperwork, there's a pile on my desk you're welcome to take a crack at."

"You. Stay put," Steve ordered him and stomped off to find Lou and work out what had happened. Chin slid down the car next to Danny, a small look of concern flitting over his features.

"He just wants what's best for you."

"I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Truth be told, I'm beginning to agree with him. Until this morning sickness passes I could be a liability in the field. But if I don't put up an argument over it, he'll think something's wrong with me and worry even more."

Chin laughed. "There is that. Classic Steve logic."

They sat and chatted for a while longer, until Steve finally came back over, relieved to see Danny exactly where he left him and motioning for Chin to take over helping Lou process the scene.

"Sister wrestled him for the gun, it went off. He's dead, she's going to be fine but managed to get shot in the foot in the process," he waved someone forward from the side. "I asked the paramedics to take a quick look at you, since they're here."

"Steve," Danny moaned, but he cut the grumbling when Marc, the paramedic they liked and who seemed to frequent their crime scenes, ambled into view. He helped Danny take his vest off then began taking his blood pressure. "Could be worse, he could have asked Max or Mindy to check me over," he mumbled, which made Marc chuckle.

"Max and Doctor Shaw both have medical degrees. I wouldn't hesitate," Steve put in, while keeping his eyes on the horizon, hands firmly on his hips. 

Marc announced that Danny's pressure was elevated, but only slightly and that it was understandable in the situation. He swabbed an alcohol wipe over the shallow cuts on Danny's hand and asked him a few questions about if he'd been knocked in the stomach, or if he felt any pain in his abdomen, whether he was feeling nauseous… Danny answered them all succinctly, said the only thing bothering him was his hand and wrist, but that he was fine. 

"Okay, but you should get checked out at the Clinic within the next 24 hours to be sure. They'll want to redo your blood pressure and probably get some blood and urine samples in case you did take a knock."

"I'm due in tomorrow morning anyway," Danny smiled at him. "Thanks, Marc."

"No problem. Just let me know if you need anything else."

Danny motioned for Steve to help him up. He leaned back against the Camaro and fixed his sleeve back into place. "Like I said, everything's fine."

Steve pouted and moved closer to Danny's side, a hand splayed on his tummy as he kissed into his hair. "I've been in some stressful situations in my life, but when that gun went off-" he cut himself off with a shake of his head. He looked to where his hand was on Danny's belly, lightly rubbing. "I don't think my heart is out of my throat yet."

Danny placed his hand on top of Steve's. "Welcome to life as a parent. Now you know how I felt all those times Grace was in trouble, from being carjacked to kidnapped and that camping trip…"

"I know. And if Leo - or Grace - is in a situation with guns around or any kind of criminal element then trust me, I'd be just as livid. But right now this bean inside you is so fragile. I'm hyper aware of taking care of it."

Danny relaxed, any residual annoyance at Steve slipping away, replaced with understanding. He remembered when Rachel was pregnant with Grace and she'd been on the same street as a store robbery and he'd entertained all sorts of protective thoughts at the time, ranging right up to telling her she needed to stay in the house unless he was around to escort her out.

Of course, now he knew how Rachel had felt at that, and how her English stiff upper lip and repressed emotions had been severely tested.

He cleared his throat after too long a second of meeting Steve's eyes. "So this stressful stuff you've been through. Any of that during Operation Strawberry Fields?"

"Would you let that one go?"

"Not a chance. I still want to find out who the walrus is."

Steve laughed at him, then his eyes turned again to the distance and the smile began to dissipate. "Listen, we've got reporters over by the barrier down the street. They've been watching us."

"Right," Danny took a deep breath in then let it out. "So do they even care about the crime anymore or are they just snapping photos of us?"

"A little of both, but mostly us," Steve looked back down at Danny and joined their hands again on his stomach. "I think it's time we just told them. I don't want them continually hassling you and they will if they don't get something."

Danny could only agree. He nodded and pushed away from the car. "Time to face the music."

The closer they got to the end of the street and the police tape cordoning it off, the more the two reporters and one photographer got antsy, starting to ask questions before they could even properly hear.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," Danny mumbled to himself and then decided to let Steve take the lead because he was sure if he did it himself, he'd sound as pissed off with them as he actually was and that might not be the best thing for Five-0's reputation.

It seemed Steve had been paying attention to the questions being leveled at them. "I'm sorry Patricia, you know we can't comment on an ongoing investigation."

"According to witnesses they heard two shots fire, was anyone hurt?"

Steve sighed. "There was one fatality, one injury. Both were members of the public who were involved directly in the altercation. We can't give names at this time."

"But we saw the paramedics with you, Detective Williams. Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, they were just concerned. Overly, I might add," he turned and eyed Steve.

"Okay, come on," Alana put in, holding her dicta-phone out and rolling her eyes. "We could see everything from here, are you both still going to deny that you're pregnant?"

They looked at each other. "No, we're not," Steve admitted. "But we didn't lie before. We only recently found out ourselves and have been trying to get used to the news. You can understand our reticence in going public when we had family to inform and multiple doctor's visits to contend with."

"How far along are you?"

"Nine weeks," Danny answered, feeling it was time he entered more into the conversation. "So far, so good. The doctors at the Clinic are keeping a close eye on everything, as are Steve and I. We are still being cautious, as I'm sure you would expect."

"You'll be having the baby here, in Honolulu?"

"At the Clinic in Waikiki, yes."

"Last time, you were injured on the job and felt the need to go to the Clinic in New York due to it's experience in dealing with possible injuries and difficult pregnancies. You're still working right now, aren't you worried the same thing might happen?"

They exchanged looks again, Steve stepping back with his hands in the air, letting Danny face the music for this since it was his decision to keep going when Steve had already said he'd prefer if Danny stopped working so much.

"We're still sorting out what's best. I will be stepping back. With Five-0, it's difficult to judge what may or may not be a hazardous situation."

"I doubt you'll be seeing him at crime scenes from here on in," Steve put in. "I think we've answered enough questions for right now, so if you'll excuse us," he took Danny's wrist to turn him then moved the hand to his shoulder and pushed him in front, shielding him from the last of the shutter sounds as the photographer kept trying to get the perfect shot of them together.

"That could have been worse," Danny said. "Hopefully they won't question me more about how it was last time."

"I doubt they will. If anything, I think they'll focus on this one and ignore the past."

"Yeah, but now I'm going to have every person on this Island try and touch my bump for luck. I don't even have a bump yet."

"If I'm around they won't be going near you. Who knows where these people have been and I don't want bean exposed to anything potentially harmful." He stopped and turned a rakish grin on Danny. "Considering how much I've been rubbing your bump, does that mean I have an abundance of good luck?"

Danny couldn't resist. "Steven, you have Five-0. Mary and Joan. Grace, Leo and another one on the way and most importantly, you have me. You, buddy, are the luckiest man on the planet," he patted Steve's cheek.

"Yes I am," Steve replied, surrounded by police cordon tape, flashing reds and blues and Max working on a dead body not that far away. Despite that, he was beaming like a contented cat.


	5. Chapter 5

The cool gel spread on Danny's stomach and the wand pressed in against his skin while Steve's hand tightened in his - the man's anticipation palpable.

"You know they can't tell what it is yet," Danny reminded him. "Besides being human. Well, hopefully. Can't be too sure with you as a father."

"Very good, Daniel," Steve shot him a withering look. "Shut up and let the lady finish her job."

They'd already looked at the growing baby on the screen and listened for the first time to the heart beating and Danny thought Steve would explode with pride as he'd asked all sorts of questions about what they were seeing.

Danny turned back to the sonographer. "So everything's okay?"

"Danny, you're doing really well," she reiterated to him.

"Don't jinx it," Danny warned her. "It's still early, anything could happen."

"Let's stay positive, shall we?" She said. "You and your baby are strong and healthy, there's no reason to think that won't continue." She handed a printed copy of the scan to Steve who held it like it was something precious that he needed to take care of. Danny had never seen him be so sentimental, but there were many sides of Steve's personality that had come to the front since Danny had walked back into his life with Leo in tow, and all of them had made his heart warm. 

By the time Danny had cleaned up and come back to where Steve was waiting, they'd been left alone. Danny stood by Steve, who remained seated and reached out for Danny, pulling him in closer and resting his head against Danny, his ear pressed close as if listening intently for that heartbeat.

Danny ran fingers through Steve's hair. "Hey," he said quietly, unwilling to break the spell as he watched Steve's eyes flutter open again. 

He turned his head up to Danny, chin resting against him. "Have I told you how amazing you are? And how proud I am?"

Danny smirked. "Never enough," he joked. 

"Just assume I'm thinking it every second of every day. Okay?" His eyes kept their serious, thankful hue.

"Okay," Danny bent his head and kissed Steve's hair. 

Steve rubbed his nose against Danny's t-shirt and kissed against him. "That goes for you too, bean. And your brother and sister." He rose, slithering up Danny's body until he could hug him close. "Danny," he sighed the name out, not in question, not expecting a response, just keeping the quiet awe between them. 

"Love you, babe," Danny spoke into his ear.

*

"Show me! Show me!" Grace bounced as she got in from school. She'd known they were getting the scan today and had been looking forward to seeing the first picture of her little brother or sister.

"Careful with it," Steve warned as she bounded over to the kitchen table and picked it up. 

She frowned at it. "It's a human, right?"

Steve playfully whacked the back of her head while Danny just laughed. "Did you tell her to ask that?" Steve accused.

"Of course not," Danny kissed the top of her head as he passed. "She's just showing the same genuine concern that I did."

"Danno always says he's still not entirely convinced you're human, Uncle Steve. But I told him you had to be, because I saw how you teared up when Mufasa died. That's a sure fire test of being human rather than robot."

"Dinner in fifteen," Danny told his daughter. "Get cleaned up and get your brother for me, okay?"

"Okay," she answered happily before leaving the two men to finish preparing the food. 

Danny turned to Steve. "So you cried at The Lion King, huh? I didn't peg you as the kind of guy who'd get emotional at movies, I mean, you laughed at me when I did."

"That movie is stupid, Danno."

"I dare you to watch it again after this one is born," he pointed at his stomach. "Then tell me that Enemy Mine isn't emotional."

"Fine, but I still think it's stupid, I mean, it's a plastic alien, Danny, brought to life by some cinematic tricks, but it's still completely fake."

"Okay, sure, but cartoons, they're real," he fired back. 

"Oh, they're real," Steve intoned as he placed things on the table. "I'll take you all to Disneyland to prove it, too."

*

A week later and Danny frowned into the closet. He was having a hard time working out what to wear. Not because he couldn't decide, but because he'd tried on two pairs of pants already and couldn't do up the top button. 

He grabbed another pair randomly, frustrated now and pulled them on, yanking them up his legs as he mumbled about how unfair it was that he'd get fat again and struggling after he got the zip up. 

In desperation he sat and then laid back on the bed, dug his heels in so he could raise his body up and then tried again, hoping that somehow he'd shift enough of his weight or the baby, or whatever and get it done up. Just as he finally managed, he heard the stifled laugh from the door and he collapsed back down, his ass bouncing on the bed as he spread his arms to the side.

"It's time to go shopping for something that'll fit you better," Steve told him. 

"This is so unfair," Danny started. "Last time I just lived in sweat pants since I wasn't leaving the Clinic and didn't have to care about people seeing me."

"You can stay in if you want."

"I don't want," he answered back. "I want to go to work, I want to go places with my kids, I want to try and fit in some nice nights out on our own before I pop again and for all that I need to be able to wear clothes. Nice clothes. Clothes befitting a professional. Sweats and a triple XL shrimp truck t-shirt are not professional attire."

"Speaking of shrimp," Steve patted Danny's knee as he sat beside him. "No more for a while. I don't care if you are wanting the hot and spicy stuff because fish is limited on the menu and you've indulged enough this week."

"You're cutting me off? Why?" he moaned, not sure he wanted an answer but expected something about nutrition.

"Mercury."

"Let me guess, you read somewhere about how it's bad for the baby."

Steve laid down next to Danny. "There's a lot of things that are bad for the baby. I had no idea. What I wouldn't give for a hermetically sealed pod right now…"

"Bet Kamekona knows a guy."

"Probably," Steve mused. "But you'd kill me if I followed up on it and that would leave you as a single parent."

"And in jail," Danny pointed out, turning his head to Steve and watching the emotions play out on the other man's face. It had just been a joke, the kind that flowed easily off the tongue and for a moment, Dany had forgotten how much Steve had come to hate Danny joking about things that way - about 'going to jail'.

Being in that Colombian prison was one thing, but once Danny had returned to Honolulu, once Steve had found out about Leo and just how long Danny had been pregnant, his mind had gone into overdrive. He'd told Danny months ago that had it come to it, had their method not worked to get Danny out cleanly with his exoneration, then he'd have gone in to bust him out and alone if necessary. And that was before knowing that Danny had been carrying his child at the time and being beaten and exploited in the early few weeks of pregnancy where Danny could have lost Leo.

It was another reason the Clinic in New York had been Danny's best option. In many ways, they hadn't lied to the press when they said that was why he'd gone there after 'sustaining injuries on the job' - because he had. They'd just neglected to say it was in Colombia and included an element of rape along with the common or garden violent altercations.

But Leo had made it. Strong, healthy. The birth hadn't been easy but it had been to a standard the Clinic expect to consider a success. And Danny had made it, too, not just in carrying Leo to term unscathed but in gaining perspective in his therapy that allowed him to consign his ordeal to the past and not let it shape him as a person or shut him out of aspects of his life. 

Still, as much as Danny had moved on and was able to use such a basic turn of phrase again, Steve couldn't. The mere thought of Danny in jail, of giving birth there, was enough to make him shut down. Enough to make him ignore things, make a change in the conversation.

His lips touched against Danny's temple as he turned onto his side and pressed his palm flat to Danny's stomach, finger tips unsuccessfully trying to get under the tight waistband of his pants. 

"The baby book said that round about now Bean should be able to feel when I touch you. Not that it can respond but it can feel. Maybe we should start doing that music thing, you know? Put headphones on you so it can listen."

"I'm not putting headphones on my bump." He looked down at where Steve was caressing him. "It's not even a bump, it's just a … podge."

"A podge?"

"It's a real word. I think. Or it should be. That's how it feels. Podgy."

"I think it feels beautiful," Steve kissed Danny, long but soft in a familiar, content touch. He nuzzled into Danny's neck, tongue and lips exploring round and up behind his ear. His hand slid up Danny's chest, fingers catching in the buttons of his shirt as he moved until the warmth from his hand cupped the other side of Danny's neck and they were kissing again, more hints of passion as tongues met and slid against each other.

"Careful," Danny breathed against his mouth. "I just got these pants on. Also…." he stopped and Steve lifted his head.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned when Danny looked up at the ceiling as if trying to decide something.

"Gotta-" he said suddenly then bolted up from the bed, staggered into the bathroom with his hand over his mouth and retched. There wasn't much to it; he hadn't had breakfast yet, but his insides hadn't been happy about something. "Urgh," he moaned as he flushed the toilet while standing. "I thought I was mostly over that stage."

Steve was at the sink with a glass of water for him and he rubbed his back soothingly while he rinsed his mouth out. "Don't worry, I won't take offense over the whole 'running to be sick while kissing me' thing."

Danny rinsed his mouth again and grabbed his toothbrush, giving his mouth a quick clean before standing straight and turning to lean back against the porcelain. He crossed his arms. "I know we haven't, you know, for a while."

"I get it," Steve wrapped his arms around Danny. "When you're feeling sick it's not exactly a top priority. Besides, it would be weird, wouldn't it? Fucking you while our baby is in there?"

"It's perfectly normal to have sex while pregnant. And safe. You can't hurt it."

"I know, I did all the reading. I just worry," he sidled closer, bending his knees to come to Danny's height and tease his now freshly minty lips. "I'm sure when the mood does strike, any misgivings won't matter because pounding your ass is never something I'd turn down."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Danny nosed against Steve's cheek, breathing in being near him and closing his eyes to enjoy it.

*

Danny had Leo on his knee and was staring at his laptop when the door opened and two sweaty messes came inside from their morning run. Grace breathed hard, her hands on her knees while Steve padded over, kissing Leo's head and then Danny's. 

"Hi, Clara," Steve said as he stood behind Danny, belatedly realizing that they were on Skype with his mother.

"Aloha, Steven," she replied. "Still running my granddaughter ragged then?"

"How far did you go?" Danny asked. 

"5k," Grace replied. "I'm getting closer to the twenty minute mark." She high-fived Steve as she walked by, grabbing a chair and pulling it close to Danny's so she could see the screen. "Hi, Grandma!" she waved.

"Hi, sweetheart. Ready for the Olympics yet?"

"I'm trying," she replied. "Uncle Steve's a good coach."

"Ma, don't you have to go pick dad up from the golf course?" Danny reminded her.

She looked at her watch. "Shoot, yes. Life would be easier if that damned car of his got fixed faster and I didn't have to run round after him like I did when you kids were growing up. Gracie, honey, go take your shower and I'll call you in an hour or so once I get back to the house."

"Okay, love you grandma," she slid from her seat and ran off.

Steve took the opportunity to snag the empty space beside Danny and pressed in close, throwing an arm around him.

Danny wrinkled his nose. "Steve, you're all gross and sweaty, do you have to?" he picked Steve's arm from where it was on his shoulder and threw it away like he was disgusted by it.

"I have to," Steve replied playfully, digging a hand between Leo and Danny's stomach to press against the growing bulge, while his other arm took its place on Danny's shoulder again and he kissed his temple and cheek over and over.

"Not in front of Ma," Danny moaned. 

"I'm hanging up now anyway, I'll speak to you both later. Bye-bye Leo," she waved at the little boy and Danny picked his arm up to help him wave back as Clara signed off.

Steve snagged Leo from Danny's lap, lifting him into the air and down onto his own. "Won't be long until you join Gracie and me on our morning runs, huh?"

"Maybe he'll turn out more like me and prefer team sports," Danny put in.

"At the rate he's been crawling and trying to run before he can walk properly, I think we've got ourselves another Olympic athlete. Or maybe a new GI Joe."

"Our son is not going into a career involving guns. None of them are," Danny warned. 

"The military is a tradition in my family. Goes back generations," Steve shrugged. "And you're not one to talk. Your uncle is a cop and your dad is a firefighter. Then take a look at the two of us and you think none of our three are going to want to do some kind of public service?"

"Public service is fine. They can, I dunno, work for a charity, become doctors or heaven forbid become politicians… you can work jobs that try to help people and not carry a gun, Steven."

"Yes, you can," Steve admitted. "But it's not what either of us chose. And it might not be what they choose either and I plan to support them whatever."

"Yeah, yeah," Danny took Leo back. "And I will lock them in their rooms if they even think about going near lethal weapons. You being the one exception to the rule, of course."

"Of course," Steve kissed Danny again. "Showering. Feel like joining me?"

"Not a chance, got too much stuff to do."

*

Danny looked over his shoulder from where he was watching the TV, remote in hand, feet up on the couch. "Is that the last of it?" he asked as Steve brought in another box of stuff, hair slicking down with sweat, tattoos shining in the light.

"Yup," Steve dropped the box and stood straight, hands on his hips as he took deep breaths. "Thanks for the help, by the way."

"Don't mention it."

"I'm sure sitting on the couch and pointing in different directions was very taxing."

"I was supervising," Danny argued. "And don't even start with me. The minute i tried to get up to help you shooed me away."

"Because you made a whole pathetic show about feeling sick and you rubbed your tummy and you took advantage of my weaknesses," He plopped down on the couch next to Danny's feet, lifted them automatically and began giving him a foot rub through his socks. "I'm onto your games, just so you know."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh," he looked down to his hands. "Look at me, you've even got me conditioned to give you foot rubs," he complained but he carried on.

Danny prodded Steve's thigh with his other foot. "Back to the matter in hand, is the house ready?"

"I've got everything I left there in the attic or in the locked closet. It's ready to be shown to people wanting to rent, yes."

"You know you don't have to rent it. You could just preserve it or whatever. Use it as a man-cave or a weekend getaway, stuff like that."

"The money would be useful. No point in leaving the place empty, it's a waste of resources."

"You could just rent it as a vacation home rather than something permanent. That way you can still get plenty of use out of it and some income from it."

Steve took a moment. "That's actually a good idea. I might take a look at properties that do the same, see if it's viable."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, then Danny felt compelled to break it. "So we're living together."

"Looks like," Steve nodded. "Any chances you had of getting rid of me before have gone down the drain, let me tell you. I am not going anywhere. Not unless you and the kids go, too."

"Fine with me," Danny smiled.

"Yeah?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Besides, I think you're banned from a lot of countries anyway so…"

Steve took the cushion from behind his back and threw it at Danny's head. 

"No!" Danny exclaimed as it messed up his hair. "Spousal abuse!"

"Shut up, Danno."


	6. Chapter 6

"Danny, stay!" Steve hollered over his shoulder as he took off after the perp. 

"Not a dog, Steven!" Danny yelled back as he watched. Neither of them were wearing vests. It wasn't like they'd expected to run into the guy. 

Danny had been bored, stuck behind his desk for weeks now with Steve being strict on what he could and couldn't do. He'd practically pleaded to be allowed out to do something, anything beyond the lunch run.

So Steve had relented. Well, 'relented' was too strong a word. Because all he'd done was allow an adaptation of the lunch run to include scoping out a possible surveillance spot, and only because it happened to be near the only pizza place on the island that Danny would grudgingly admit was okay.

When Steve had actually caught sight of their allusive petty thief turned murder accomplice, he'd seized the opportunity to go after him, leaving Danny behind by the Camaro. 

Steve may be fast and resourceful, but the guy had a hell of a head start and could easily be lost in the crowd. 

"Damnit, I'm going to be in so much trouble," Danny grumbled to himself as he got into the car and thrust it into drive. With a squeal of tires, he pressed his foot to the floor and roared after them. When he passed Steve, he glanced in the rearview to see the man sputtering with rage as he kicked into a higher speed, aiming to get to the perp before Danny had a chance, but with the Camaro, Danny had the biggest advantage. 

Gaining on the guy, who had no clue he was being followed by the car, Danny swung around, not only trapping him, but close enough for him to bounce off the hood as the car screeched to a halt.

As the perp tried to get off the ground, Danny battered the door open, hitting his back and sending him to the ground again. He was about to get his cuffs onto the dazed man when Steve skidded to a halt and took over without even taking a breath. 

As he kneeled on the perp's back, he looked back up at Danny with a deep scowl. "What the hell was that? I told you to stay put."

"I got him, didn't I? Don't I get some credit for that?"

Steve threw the cuffed man into the back of the car then came back around to Danny. "Not when you're four months pregnant and banned from this kind of thing."

"Banned is a pretty strong word," Danny argued as Steve got to one knee and felt over Danny's stomach. He didn't even know what he was checking for, they both knew that. He was doing it for show, and they had drawn a bit of a crowd with regular cop rubbernecking and the added theatrics that Steve was doing.

"What if the airbag had deployed, Danny? The impact could have hurt Bean."

"Except it didn't, and we're both fine." He took Steve's hands in his own and pulled him up. "And what you should be saying is 'thank you, Danny, I wouldn't have caught him without you'."

"I would have caught him," Steve groused. "And just so you know, lunch runs are out now, too. You stay in the office, no exemptions."

"Wait, what?" Danny tilted his head as he whined. "That's not fair, I just caught this idiot for you. I think I just proved that I can still do things even at 16 weeks."

"I'm not just your partner, I'm you boss," Steve put on the voice he used when he laid down the law and took charge. "What I say goes. End of. Now get in the car."

Danny moved around to the passenger side and once Steve was happy that the seatbelt was around him properly (complete with a passive aggressive check that the locking mechanism was in place and the strap wasn't too tight around his stomach) they got going.

"What about lunch?" Danny asked, forcing Steve to make a u-turn and go back to pick up their pizzas.

*

Danny was leaning back against the counter, mug in hand, chatting idly with Kono about a development in the case when Steve came back in with Lou. Both of them had soot and ash on their faces and clothing from where they'd been rescuing evidence from a bonfire in the perp's back yard.

Danny wrinkled his nose at the smell. "If your truck smells as bad as the two of you, I will not be going inside it until you get it professionally cleaned. Also, please go hose yourselves down before my baby develops asthma or something."

"We're just going," Steve assured him as he handed over the full plastic bags to Kono. "Just bringing in some of the evidence first. See if Fong can get anything from them. Also, is that decaf," he spun to face Danny head on, pointing at the mug that was warming his hands, speaking to him like it was still a part of the case. 

"Oh, I am outta here," Grover put his hands up and walked away.

Danny looked around the room, at Kono sipping her coffee, at Lou's retreating back and Steve's wide eyes that were awaiting an answer. He took a beat too long before answering, and it gave him away. "Yes."

"Liar," Steve grabbed it from him, ignoring the 'hey' of protest and threw the remainder down the sink. He grabbed the pot that was sitting there half full, gave it a quick sniff then dropped it into the sink, too.

"Come on, boss!" Kono moaned. "Just because you've got a moratorium on Danny's caffeine intake doesn't mean the rest of us have to suffer."

"It does now, because clearly he can't be trusted to resist temptation, so if I find any caffeine anywhere in this office, I start firing people."

"Steve, seriously," Danny put his arms out. "I'm allowed some caffeine."

"Limited. You said you'd only drink decaf, I'm holding you to that."

"One lousy cup of coffee," Danny grumbled. "Listen, hey, I'm getting into an easier stage now, the sickness is drying up, I'm feeling a lot better, more energy, you can relax a little bit."

"Not gonna happen," Steve said, with a serious half smile on his face. He lifted a hand, intent on moving in for a kiss but stopped himself when he remembered how dirty he was and blew a kiss to him instead. "Showering. And do not even think of making a Starbucks run."

"They do decaf, you know," Danny yelled at Steve's retreating back but his comment was ignored. "Kono?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me. After everything Five-0 has been through, I'm not getting fired over coffee."

*

Danny was aware of the term 'bridezilla' but what he needed was a similar name to describe Steve in his paternal my-way-or-the-highway worry-wart fit. But despite being watched over as he ate, the hand that remained on his lower back to guide him everywhere he walked or the damn notebook that made an appearance at every doctor's appointment (even though Danny barely saw Steve write in it), he couldn't help but melt at Steve's tenderness.

Like now, when Danny had been forced to put his book down on the nightstand to allow Steve room to hover over and pet his stomach in their nightly routine.

Grace was old enough to do her own thing, and they were trusting her to turn her light off at a decent time. Leo was now in his own room and settled into a bedtime routine that made their lives easier. Without worry about the kids, Danny was always first into bed, Steve insisting he use the bathroom first. Then when he was nicely settled in under the covers, Steve would disturb that peace by crawling over and around him, hiking up his t-shirt to get a look at his growing belly and spend quality time with his Bean. Just the two of them. Conveniently forgetting that Bean was still firmly attached to the inside of Danny's body and that he could hear every word that was said. 

"Danno said he might even get some actual exercise this week, and I read in all the baby books that it's good for you so I'm not worried about anything. I'm just not sure he'll follow through since he hates running and swimming and all things endurance."

Danny sighed. Steve did this every night and it was just a way to talk to Danny without actually talking to him. It was half cute, half irritating. Kind of passive aggressive but also not. At first, Danny had been prone to get annoyed at it, though he always kept it inside and fumed in silence but after a while he began to shift his view. Now he realized this was Steve's way of being able to open up emotionally. By talking to something so small that really only responded, if at all, to tone and didn't really know what was being said; to something that was inanimate to a degree, it was like a rehearsal.

"There are some things I like to have good stamina for," Danny mumbled with a smirk and didn't miss the tilt of Steve's head as his eyes looked up.

"Not in front of Bean."

"We have sex plenty. I'm sure Bean is fine with all of it. And stop calling it Bean or the name will stick."

"Too late," Steve smiled then blew a random raspberry on Danny's belly, making him flinch. "My little bean sprout will still be my bean once born, no matter what he or she gets called. Just like you will never stop calling Grace your monkey."

"She earned that name when she was two and tried to climb over the furniture all the time."

"I'm just saying, names stick. Like Leo is really Freddie. Grace prefers calling him Fred-head, which is probably going to confuse him like crazy until he's old enough to understand the difference between first and middle names."

"Are you done so I can get some sleep?"

"Almost," Steve answered, laying kisses in a circle around the growing bump. When he finished he pressed his ear to it. "Is it moving or do you have indigestion?"

"Probably both. I had jalapeños earlier since the bump was craving them. Had half a jar before I had to force myself to stop. I was sweating like crazy."

Steve frowned as he crawled back up Danny's body but with a hand still idly stoking his stomach. "I don't remember seeing you do that."

"You were busy," Danny shrugged. "What, did you miss getting it down in that stupid notebook of yours?" he teased, but Steve's face was more serious.

"Maybe I should be hanging back more as well to keep an eye on you. Chin is perfectly capable and along with Kono and Lou they can run Five-0 day-to-day without my constant presence. I could just tell them I'm there when the big cases come along."

"You'll do no such thing. If you hover and suffocate me, I will castrate you."

"Fine," Steve held his hand up while the other futzed with the bed covers as they settled to go to sleep. "But later on in your pregnancy I'm going to have to be more hands on to take care of you. You know once you hit six months things get tricky again and you won't be able to do much. It's really not that far away."

"Far enough. Now go to sleep," Danny ordered and for once, Steve complied, wrapping himself around Danny like every night, a hand just at the base of his bump and his head over Danny's shoulder.

*

The house was going to start being rented out soon. Steve had liked Danny's idea for short term rentals and they'd needed to get some decent photos of it for the rental company they were using. Deciding to make a day of it, everyone gathered for a barbecue with the whole team enjoying the weekend and the kids getting to play in the sand and water.

Lou had brought Samantha and she and Grace were spending all their time together. Danny could only hope that 'boys' were not a topic of conversation but he doubted that, especially with the knowing looks Lou kept sending him. He always did that. It said 'you think it's tough now, wait until she hits the same age as my one'.

Leo was in the capable hands of Chin and Kono who were introducing the little boy to Ellie.

Steve had grudgingly allowed Lou to become grill master and take over in teaching Max more about the delicacy he considered his burgers to be and Jerry and Mindy were deep in conversation by the shoreline. 

Danny had been in the hammock. Truth be told he kind of wanted to get out of it, but he wasn't sure he wanted to try in public. He was convinced he could manage without embarrassing himself, but there was still a risk. He had decided to wait until he needed to pee, but for once, that didn't seem to be happening. 

Steve reappeared in swim shorts to a cacophony of wolf whistles, claps and laughed whoops that went around the group like a wave. He sauntered up to where Danny was and held his hand out to him. 

"What?" Danny asked.

"Come on," Steve wiggled his fingers. "Time for some exercise."

"I'm quite happy here, thanks."

"No you're not. You've looked uncomfortable for at least ten minutes."

"How would you know? You went inside."

"I saw from the window and before you accuse me of anything, just assume that yes, I'm always watching and no, I'm not in the least apologetic about it. Come on," he repeated and didn't give Danny much chance to complain. He barely got an eye roll in before he was being hoisted out of the swinging contraption and onto two feet.

"What are we doing?"

"We're going swimming."

"I don't have anything to wear," he started and grimaced when he realized the look on Steve's face said he'd thought of that and had brought Danny's trunks with him. "Okay, fine, but second. I don't swim. Well, I swim, I just don't like it and you already know that."

"It's good for the baby."

"I am going to _burn_ that baby book of yours. You do not have to follow every single piece of advice that's in there."

"But then what's the point if you don't?" Steve asked, genuinely perplexed. "And swimming is good for you whether you're pregnant or not, Danny. It improves circulation, heart and lung function, muscle strength, all sort of things."

"Did you have to decide today was the best day for this?" Danny asked, hiding his face a little but still peering round at their assembled group of friends. "I'm not exactly, you know, as fit as I once was."

Steve smirked, but schooled his face before Danny could catch on and yell at him for it. "Are you being shy, Daniel? There's no need to be so sensitive, they know what a pregnant person looks like, it's not like you've got a beer belly going on there, it's still just a bulge. And the further into the pregnancy you get, the more you're going to appreciate the buoyancy of the water."

"You've never been pregnant nor been close to anyone who was. Mary adopted Joan so don't try and play any other baby card you've got. How would you know what it's like, huh? 'Buoyancy of the water'."

"I read it. There were loads of people who agreed, so will you hurry up and get dressed so we can go in before lunch?"

"I hate you," Danny said as he began walking towards the house. 

"Five minutes or I'm coming to find you."

Danny threw a hand over his shoulder in a 'yeah, yeah' gesture. He was still uncomfortable about wearing just the swim trunks but he had a t-shirt that he could keep on and it wouldn't seem so strange. When he returned, Steve gave him a knowing look but decided not to pull attention to it, relieving Danny of the slight flush to his face. 

As he began to make his way into the water, he kept one hand on the bump as if protecting it in case the small waves knocked him over. He'd had a few dizzy spells and had kept them to himself, so he was wary of what the water might do to his balance. Steve interpreted his caution as related to his phobias and helped guide him further with a hand on his back. 

As much as he was concentrating on walking further in, aware of some eyes on them from the house, he was also aware of Kono, knee-deep in the water but sitting on her ass and holding tightly to Leo as he splashed around with her. God help him, the boy loved the water. He'd always enjoyed bath time and it seemed this bigger bath with water that moved more freely was something that was endlessly fascinating. He trusted Kono to take care of his son, hell, he trusted her judgement in the water almost as much as Steve's. Or maybe more, as she wouldn't be quite so adventurous with someone else's kid - no one ever was when it wasn't your own.

Steve moved in front of him, water sloshing around his thighs as he turned his back to the waves, took Danny's hands and guided him further out. Once the water was over his hips and touching against the bump, Steve's face lit up. "Bet it likes the water."

"It lives in water. Fluid, whatever. We all do until we're born it's just that some of us develop a healthy fear of it."

"There's nothing to be scared of."

"I'm scared of drowning. That's perfectly legitimate. My worst nightmare would be getting trapped in a sinking boat. I can't even watch _The Poseidon Adventure_ or I'll break out in hives."

"I take it you and I are never going to be one of those couples who likes going on cruises then," Steve said, deadpan as they reached chest level.

"Absolutely not, are you kidding me? Those ships are all tiny rooms and narrow corridors, food that everyone touches and you get ill from. If I wanted to get dizzy and throw up, I'd just get drunk. Or better yet, get pregnant," he said, a tinge of annoyance in his voice that came from his hormones more than anything else. 

"You've been getting dizzy?" Steve pulled him in closer as the water got higher on him and they bounced up with each new wave. "You never said."

Danny shrugged, or tried to as they moved with the water. "It's a pregnancy thing, that's all."

"Did you talk to the doctors?"

"Of course I did, and they have my records from last time and things are pretty much the same so quit your worrying."

"Okay," Steve said but it was too easy, too quick. 

"Okay?" he asked. "That didn't sound like an 'okay' okay it sounded like a neurotic 'I'm thinking up new rules because of this new information' okay."

"Maybe it is," Steve said, cupping Danny's face. "I just want what's best." He leaned in for a quick kiss and pulled back with a happier, more distracted look. "Now tell me, you feel better in the water right? Not so heavy in the mid-section?"

"I wasn't that heavy there to begin with," Danny pointed out. "But I can see how it might help when the bump is a lot bigger," he admitted grudgingly.

"I do like it when you admit I'm right," Steve teased his lips over Danny's cheek.

"I never said you were right."

"Close enough," Steve's lips trailed into Danny's neck and he responded, lifting his arms to Steve's shoulders. Steve's skirted down his body to his waist where he grabbed hold of the hem of Danny's t-shirt and pulled it up and off before Danny could comprehend what was happening. 

He shook himself from the happy buzz he'd had going on with Steve's lips on his skin, their bodies pressed together and the gentle rocking around them. "Hey, what-"

Steve put his arm to the side, throwing the t-shirt away and letting it float off. "You don't need it. You're gorgeous without it and I want to see you."

"Our friends and co-workers are right there," Danny gestured to everyone back on the beach and to those who were starting to play in the shallower water. 

"Let them look. All they'll see is two people who love each other and who are expanding their family," Steve ducked down enough to wrap his arms around Danny's thighs, lifting him up higher, the water making his weight easier to manage. Danny broke the surface, bump and all before sliding back down Steve's wet grip, a smacking kiss being pressed to his belly as he sunk back down again.

"You are insane!" Danny yelled at him, but there was no bite to his words and if Steve was worried there was, Danny splashed him in the face and then dunked his head before he could splash back. 

Steve held his breath under the water and curled around Danny, starting with an affectionate touch to his belly, he then swam around and bit Danny's ass, making him yelp and grab for the pinching sting. He broke the surface behind Danny and pressed in close to him. His head ducked in against Danny's shoulder, drops of water falling from his hair and down Danny's chest as the warmth of his tongue laved over his throat and up to his ear. "How about you take a nap after lunch. I can join you and we can spend some quality time together upstairs."

"The kids-"

"Will be looked after down here by everyone else," he kept his voice low as they looked out over the horizon, shielding themselves from anyone nearby.

Danny reached a hand back and rubbed at Steve's neck, tilting his head to allow Steve more access while he felt a hand push between their bodies and rub against his ass, right where Steve had bitten. He was thankful the water would hide any reaction he was having, but he wished it was colder to stop it happening in the first place.

"Don't tease, you know how horny I've been getting lately."

"And I fully support that. If you need to be fucked, then I'm your guy," Danny could feel the curl in Steve's lips against his collarbone.

He was going to make a comment about Steve's dirty mouth but his mind was already on what they could be doing in Steve's bedroom. "After lunch?" he clarified.

"I'd say before, but I have a feeling the burgers will be ready soon and I think we could use the stamina for what I'd like to do to you. And it would be anti-social."

"After it is," Danny nodded and turned in Steve's arms so they could kiss properly, their bodies still bouncing with the waves but beginning to be swept back to shore. "Let's eat." He grabbed Steve's hand and waded back to shore as quickly as possible.


	7. Chapter 7

Steve had been bouncing around all weekend like an over-excited puppy because he knew that come Monday and Danny's next scan, they would be finding out what they were having: boy or girl.

Sensing Steve's excitement and impatience, Grace had turned on the Williams' playfulness and had spent her time asking if maybe it could be a dragon, or a dolphin, or a unicorn, or any other animal or creature she could think of and then listing how cool it would be if it were one of those. 

"Maybe it's actually an alien," she said after dinner on Sunday.

"Well, Uncle Steve is the father so that's not out of the realm of possibility," Danny had tilted his head to her conspiratorially as they sat on the couch watching a movie. _Galaxy Quest_. Grace's pick.

"Are you sure he's the father? What if a different alien came down and into your bedroom and made you pregnant while you were asleep and now you're going to have some gross looking alien baby with tentacles and three eyes and mucus everywhere..."

Steve jutted his head forward to glance around Danny and over to where Grace was sitting, narrowing his eyes. "What do they teach you at that school?"

She mirrored his movement, ducking her head to see around Danny at Steve and stuck her tongue out at him. "I've seen _Alien_. Maybe it'll just explode out of Danno's stomach."

Danny heaved himself forward. "Speaking of things exploding out of my stomach. I'm going to check on my son while the evil baby rock monsters attack the crew." He got up from the couch, leaving the other two to argue over whether or not Danny had an alien inside him and if it was a good or bad alien. Grace was hoping for Stitch. She could pretend she had a dog again if it was.

*

As they waited for the radiologist, Danny glanced down over the side of the bed he was sitting on and watched Steve's knee bouncing rapidly up and down with nerves.

"You know, it's not an alien," he startled Steve as he spoke, and it took the other man a second or two to piece together what Danny was talking about.

"I know. I was never worried about that. And like I told Grace last night, even if it is an alien, I'll still love it as much as I love her and she isn't technically mine."

"Technically?" Danny asked. 

Steve sighed. "Well, sure. I've known her for half her life and I love her as much a I'd love a daughter of my own. I have never had any intention of pushing her aside for my biological children."

Danny reached for Steve's hand and grasped it tightly. "And that is just one of the many reasons I love you."

Steve smile. "You love me?"

"Sometimes," Danny responded and before Steve could say anything more, the radiologist arrived and set everything up.

By the time they were looking at the very human looking baby (at least it wasn't an alien after all, not that Danny was worried, but he'd had strange dreams the night before that had left him feeling weird about it all), Steve had seemed like he'd almost forgotten the main reason - in his mind - that they were having the scan.

"Do you want to know the sex?" the radiologist asked, looking between them.

"Yes, we want to know," Danny answered and felt Steve squeeze his hand tighter again.

She moved the wand around some more on Danny's belly as if double checking that she was as correct as she could be. "Congratulations, gentlemen. You're having a girl," she said as she let the sound of their baby's heartbeat fill the room again.

"A girl?" Steve asked. Danny whipped his head back to him and melted at the overjoyed, teary looking on Steve's face. "We're having a girl, Danno."

"A girl." He said, trying it out on his lips and in his brain. The spawn growing inside him no longer the 'it' she had once been. She was a she. He looked up at Steve again. "So you and I have one of each, huh?"

"No, it's our second girl," Steve reiterated. "Girl, boy, girl. Turn about. I'm never going to forget putting Gracie into the mix. Didn't I just tell you that?"

"Of course, just, you know… Leo and this one, they have your genes. That's a little different."

"What have you been worrying about?" the radiologist piped up with a smile, not entirely forgotten in the room as she typed away and ran some more tests on Danny.

"Oh, nothing," Danny sighed. "Just whatever personality disorder this animal has being hereditary. He likes pineapple on pizza and he goes swimming every day. Who does that?"

"This is Hawaii," she pointed out. "A lot of people do that."

"That's true, a lot of people here do. That's why it's so far away from the mainland, all the nut jobs live here and we'd rather, you know… keep them at a safe distance."

"Then why are you here, oh, great mainlander of renown? Who would dare banish someone as clear of mind as you?" Steve asked with a smirk.

"I was not banished, I made the harrowing decision to bring myself here, as you know, despite hating it. I put up with it for my family's sake."

"And the family keeps growing, which means you'll just have to stay here for longer and longer," Steve pointed to the screen where their daughter was shown and they watched as the radiologist printed new pictures of her for them.

*

"Have you thought of any names yet? Because 'Kono' is fantastic for a girl," the woman in question posed as she leaned back in her seat and chewed on a celebratory cocoa puff. 

"We had been waiting to narrow down our choices once we knew the sex and since we do, now we can think properly," Danny answered her, a hand stroking over his bump, smoothing down over his t-shirt. He couldn't wear button-downs anymore, they pulled too tightly down low if they were a comfortable fit on top, and if he went for something baggier they felt too heavy and bunched up around his neck. So he'd relented and gone for t-shirt, moving from his normal 'medium' build ones into 'large' in order to fully cover his growing… protrusion. "But we will not be naming her after friends, because then other friends get jealous and it's a whole thing. We want to avoid that."

"What about your naming tradition, Danny?" Chin asked. "Grace and Leo, well, Freddie, are both named after fallen partners. Are you going to carry that on?"

"Possibly. We don't know for sure yet."

Steve reappeared, cock of the walk as he sauntered around the HQ, beer bottles in hand. As he passed fresh ones to Lou and Chin, Danny gave a whine as he looked at the bottle of water in his own grip.

"Pregnancy sucks," he postulated as he watched the rest of the team indulge. "Don't do it, Kono. It's nine months of hell. You can't drink, or smoke or do anything fun. You throw up, you crave weird shit, you get cramps and dizziness and if you're really lucky, your idiotic partner makes you do all the things his baby book says are good for you and the little one."

"I don't think Adam could be as bad as Steve," Kono wrinkled her nose as she thought about it.

"No one could be as bad as Steve," Lou put in and clinked his bottle with Chin's as the other man agreed. 

Steve stood, arms out. "What? I'm not that bad."

"Babe, you're a menace to the very few nerves I have left at this point."

"There were risks. _**Are**_ risks. And I'm not leaving anything to chance. This baby is going to be born whole and healthy and I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that," he said. "If that means you've gotta put up with some monitoring and some rules then so be it. Suck it up, sailor."

"See, that's it right there," Danny pointed and waved his hand up and down at Steve. "I'm not a sailor. _You_ are. You forget that normal human beings don't keep track of their pregnant partners every second of every day, make lists, track their calorie and caffeine intake." He turned to the others. "Did I mention he got one of those at home blood pressure monitor things? Twice a day I have to sit and let him measure mine. He doesn't even know what the numbers mean."

"Yes, I do," Steve snorted. "I look them up online after."

"You're an idiot."

"You love me," Steve smacked a beer tasting kiss on Danny's lips that drew the other man forward, wanting to taste more from him but he'd already knelt down on the floor beside him, keeping the team in the circle they'd gravitated into, but keeping himself down by the baby. By their tiny little girl.

There was quiet for a moment.

"Renee is a good name," Lou spoke suddenly. 

"What did we just say about friends' names? I'm not naming my kid after your wife. Even if she is amazing," Danny held his bump between both his hands, then one of Steve's appeared from beside him and held on top.

"She is," Lou grinned.

"She'd have to be to put up with you," Danny murmured. 

"I'm gonna let that one slide cos you're pregnant and you got all those hormones flying around and because you don't really mean that," Lou teased in a familiar tone. "I am an excellent husband. You need some pointers, you just come and ask."

There was a motion inside him, soft like butterflies. "Did you feel that?" Danny asked of Steve, who still had his hand by Danny's. Steve hadn't felt the baby kicking or moving outside of nighttime. She didn't tend to move much during the day.

"Yeah," Steve said then scooted back. "Guys, come feel," he encouraged the others, acting the proud papa. 

"By all means, let my bump be a free for all," Danny grumbled though he didn't mean it. "Should charge for admission."

Kono was first, right in there, pressing her hand in close and waiting for the movement. When it happened she looked up at Danny. "It's so soft, like a ripple or something." She backed up to let Lou and Chin take their turns and all the while Steve massaged Danny's shoulders from behind and it felt really good.

Danny looked around as the people assembled, all close together, celebrating, looking at him like he was amazing and it brought a tear to his eye. One of happiness. 

When he'd walked into these offices about a year before, holding Leo tightly in his arms, he'd been so scared of their rejection. Of them hating him for hiding something from them, for lying, for running away and yet none of them had. They'd supported him, they'd been understanding, sympathetic for what he'd been through and they'd helped him settle back into life in Honolulu, welcomed him with open arms back to Five-0 (lamented his not being there and what it had done to Steve's crazy streak) and never judged him or told him his decisions had been wrong.

They'd accepted Leo, loved him, made him an important part of the Ohana. And now they were doing the same for the newest addition. 

He leaned his head back into Steve's warm hands. 

Steve had outdone himself. Danny had been the most frightened of facing him and despite some initial disbelief, worry and anger that went in all directions, it had taken Steve all of five seconds to take Leo in his arms and fall in love with his child. And ten seconds after that he'd decided on their future. Danny may have convinced him to slow down, but there was no stopping the express train Steve McGarrett when he had a good head of steam and inevitably, a lot of what Steve had wanted had come to pass. 

Including the little one inside Danny now. The one Kono was straining to listen to through his belly while Chin's hand still rested at the side where he thought another kick might happen. Lou idly telling everyone that if Kamekona had been there, he'd have been placing bets on the time and area of Danny's stomach the next kick would happen in.

He choked back air as he laughed in happiness at everything around him. 

"You okay, baby?" Steve asked, spotting his emotional state and wiping at Danny's cheeks from where he stood above and behind him. 

"Yeah, just…. hormones," Danny explained on a sniff.

Steve brought himself down, wrapped his arms around Danny's shoulders and pressed his lips to Danny's ear. "I love you, Danno."

"Don't," Danny pushed his away. "If you get sappy I'll just cry for real," he wiped his eyes and nose on the sleeve of his t-shirt.

Steve reappeared in his space, the shove away not doing anything, it was like he was attached to a bungee cord and bounced right back to Danny's side no matter what. "How about Hannah? That's a pretty name and sounds good followed by Williams-McGarrett. Oh, or we could go with a flower name like Daisy or Rose."

"How about a traditional name like Elizabeth or Victoria," Lou said. 

"Or traditional _Hawaiian_ ," Chin put in. "Kalani is pretty or Wikolia. That one means victory and if two people were ever victorious then it's you two."

"I still like 'Kono'," Kono said from below where she remained entranced by the way the bump was being prodded from the inside. 

At her pout, everyone burst into laughter.

"We are not naming her after you! Get over it!"

"Not even for a middle name?"

"No!"


	8. Chapter 8

"Fuck," Danny gritted out between his teeth as his hand slammed down repeatedly on the mattress. He lifted his leg higher, trying to change the angle since he couldn't turn onto his stomach and he arched his back, trying to get Steve's cock deeper inside him. 

Steve's arm wound around Danny's shoulder, pulling him close. "That's it, right there," he mumbled out against Danny's ear as he thrust into him. With both of them on their sides, mostly spooning, trying not to move across the bed with each thrust, Danny kept getting frustrated at the position. There was nothing much he could do. He couldn't get on his stomach anymore for a pounding, which is what they'd discovered both of them really liked. Instead things were a little gentler, more sedate, Steve worried about going too deep inside and somehow damaging their growing baby no matter if Danny had reassured him about it or not.

"Fuck, just make me come, I just wanna come," Danny moaned. He wasn't as horny as he had been a month or so ago, but it still came in fits and starts and at random times of the day. They were lucky that now it was night when he'd straddled Steve and demanded sex.

"I'm getting there," Steve told him, grasped Danny's hands still in his own and thrust faster if not deeper. "Just… almost…."

When Steve came inside Danny, he felt so good. Danny hadn't even come yet, and it wasn't that he could feel Steve emptying inside him. It was just that when Steve orgasmed he seemed to do it with his whole body, and when he loosened up like that it sent a thrum of satisfaction through Danny like a warm shiver. 

Steve stayed inside him, keeping the pressure pressed tightly there as he took Danny's cock in hand and jerked him fast, giving him all of his attention until he spilled on the sheets beside them. Steve took his time pulling out, always enjoying keeping his cum inside Danny (which, Danny was no doctor and didn't know how it really worked, and maybe it had nothing to do with it, but keeping cum inside him was maybe a contributing factor in him getting pregnant so easily, condom issues aside, and they might want to revisit that issue later. Though, it was likely just his over-active imagination and hypercondriac tendencies at work.). 

Steve replaced his cock with fingers that swirled in the cum that leaked out. Knowing Danny could get pregnant, Steve enjoyed playing with his ass, like he was consumed with fascination over how it all worked - that sticking his cock inside there and leaving his cum behind helped make a tiny human.

Danny pressed a hand to his side, beside and behind the baby bump and hissed as he cramped up. Steve was alert in a moment. 

"Danny? Danny, you okay?"

"Yeah, just a cramp, it'll pass."

"Was it, I mean, did I, did we do that? Having sex?"

"I don't know. No. Maybe. I want to say no because I'm in no rush to give up sex, okay? I've had cramps before."

Steve turned away, a cold breeze replacing him and Danny turned onto his back to see Steve writing in his notebook, checking his watch to see what time it was as he made note of everything. When he put it down he hovered over Danny. "Is there anything I can do?"

Danny shook his head. "It's fading." He wrinkled his nose as he struggled to sit up more, ignoring the wet patch near the edge of the bed. "You know what? There is something you could do for me."

"Yes, anything," Steve remarked quickly, hands unsure where to go they stayed put above Danny, ready.

"Gummy bears."

"Wait, gummy bears?"

"I want gummy bears. I know Grace has a stash and she'll probably be hiding under her covers reading. Go ask her. Oh and… do we have salsa in the fridge?"

"Yeah, left over from when we had Mexican food two nights ago."

"Great, can you bring me some of that, too?"

Steve pulled on sweat pants and checked himself over for, well, residue. And smells. "Anything else I can get for you, your Highness?"

"No, that should do it. Though maybe some milk or something to wash it down. Thanks, honey," he beamed at Steve as he got settled with pillows behind him and put the TV on. A few minutes ago he'd been starring in his own X-rated adventure, then he'd been hurting and now he was sitting up in bed waiting on food he was craving. Huh. He and Steve really had become domestic.

When the man returned, he had a tray for Danny with his requested snack and drink. 

Steve climbed back into bed, got comfortable and grabbed his book from the nightstand but instead of reading he just watched Danny with a look of disgust on his face. 

"Oh my God, really?" he asked as Danny took another gummy bear from his little pile and dunked it into the salsa, getting a good helping on it and his fingers before shoving it into his mouth.

"You should try it, it's amazing," Danny said with his mouth full before swallowing. "Sweet and spicy at the same time."

He offered one of the gummies to Steve who held a hand up. "No thanks, I think I'll leave it to you and our daughter there to enjoy. I hope she doesn't come out as weird as her cravings."

"Leo loved salsa, too. Only with him, I used Oreos." He took a gulp of milk then made a face. "What is this… it's not proper milk."

"It's almond milk. You made faces about the soy, so I got almond instead."

"Let me guess, 'cause I've been putting up with you for going on five months with this stuff, is it better for me than milk from a cow?"

"Yes, it is," Steve said, going back to his book. 

Danny waited a moment, eating more of his candy/salsa concoction before musing, "How do you milk an almond anyway?"

*

"Okay, but what about the financials, did he take a pay off?" Danny asked, only to be greeted by three confused faces. "What, did I say something wrong?" he asked them. 

"We went over that about five minutes ago, brah. Financials are clean," Chin explained. 

Danny gripped his hands on the edge of the tech table, partly to stop the dizzy spell he'd been staving off and partly in frustration because said dizzy spell had distracted him, made him zone out. "Right. Yes. Sorry, carry on," he shook his head.

Steve kept his gaze on Danny a little longer before returning to concentrate on the case. Danny, for his part, listened for about a sentence then somehow stopped again. Instead his mind was on him feeling hot, feeling like he was so tired that it was difficult to keep his eyes open, and he was wondering where he'd left that mug Grace had given him for father's day, because it wasn't in his office and it wasn't in the kitchenette. Maybe he'd left it somewhere in Steve's office?

"Danny!" the voice was loud and right beside him. 

"Yes, that's me," Danny snapped back to attention, turning his head to Steve's worried face and it made his dizziness return full force. He blinked his eyes to get it to go away but it didn't and in the next moment he was closer to the ground than he usually was, his elbow caught on the table, reflexes keeping him from landing on the floor. 

Oh, yeah, and the hands under his arms, those were helping too. 

He was guided into Steve's office and deposited onto the couch despite his protests that he was fine, it was just a dizzy spell, they happened sometimes, just a head rush…

"Chin, call the Clinic, have them send someone over," Steve asked of the other man while he helped Danny get his feet up and his shoes off. 

"No, come on, this is ridiculous. No need to make them do a house call for this," Danny argued. 

"They said if we needed it, they'd be happy to come out to you, so shut up and do as you're told. Do you feel sick?"

"No, just a little hot. Tired," he answered with a sigh, but he didn't want them to be concerned. "She kicked a lot through the night, kept me up." It was a slight exaggeration, in that maybe he'd woken twice and gone back to sleep quickly, but there was enough truth to hopefully rid Steve's face of that worried frown.

"Okay, look at me," Steve urged, hands cupping Danny's cheeks as he peered at him, eyes darting all over the place as he assessed him, trying to tell if there was something more seriously wrong.

"If you even dare to ask me how many fingers you're holding up, I'll do the same back to you. Here's a hint, there's only gonna be one."

"Shut up, Danny," Steve fussed as his hands began moving over Danny's body like he was checking for injuries, his military training kicking in whether it was actually useful or not, acting like a field medic when all that had happened was Danny had felt a little dizzy. "When did it start?"

"I dunno," Danny waved off. 

"This is serious, Danny, you need to tell me about these things the moment they happen."

"Steve, honestly, I don't know. I got distracted, maybe I was standing still for too long… I wasn't exactly watching a clock."

Steve sighed. "If you feel bad you need to tell me," he perched on the end of the sofa by Danny's thighs and carefully checked the bump. "What distracted you? We did notice, you know."

"I lost my mug," Danny murmured, the back of a hand thrown over his eyes so he almost missed Steve's look of puzzlement.

"You… lost a mug? We're going over Desmond's motives and you're thinking about a mug?"

"It was a nice mug. Also, I had something to tell you."

"What was it?"

"No idea, I forgot. Been wracking my brain all morning," he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Silverado keys!" He exclaimed, remembering now. "Found them in the wash, not sure the electronic beepy thing works anymore. Don't know how they got into the washing machine but they did, you might want to sort that out."

"You told me about that yesterday," Steve reminded him.

"Oh, so I did."

Steve lifted Danny's shirt just enough to kiss his bump. "It's okay, Bean, I got this," he whispered, kissed again and then rose up, a hand going to Danny's collarbone, fingertips on his neck. "Maybe you've been working too hard. Time to step back a little more."

"More? Like I could step back any further. Don't think I haven't noticed how you've given me tasks to do that are either completely unimportant, or ones you'll be double checking afterwards and there's no hurry for. Reports, requisitions, press releases, simple background checks, court schedules. I know you, McGarrett… it's 'busy work'. Don't deny it."

"It's not-" Steve huffed but the look on Danny's face stopped him. "Okay, maybe it is a little. I just want to make sure you have something to occupy your mind. Don't think I haven't noticed you getting slower at getting it all done. I checked your browser history, I know you've spent half your time on baby name websites and checking the fantasy football league."

"That's because I've been bored off my ass looking at paperwork. And where do you get off checking my browser history?"

"I was looking for something else and happened to see it while I was there," Steve excused himself, but Danny didn't completely buy it… probably just how Steve likely hadn't completely bought Danny's excuses for being tired. They knew each other too well, even just little imperceptible tells that only registered subconsciously.

"Uh-huh, do me a favor and get me some water?" he asked and Steve was on his feet quickly. Danny prodded him in the ass with a socked foot and he watched him leave. He returned with a plastic bottle from which Danny only took a couple of sips before putting it down on the floor beside them. Steve knelt right there, just by the bump, caring for it, murmuring to her that everything was going to be okay, all the while holding Danny's hand.

The doctor arrived after about half an hour, which meant that either all the roads from Waikiki to downtown Honolulu were blessedly free from traffic, or he'd used something with sirens to get there quicker. Steve clearly approved of the service times, Danny not so much - not when he thought everyone was fussing over nothing. He was feeling fine now. Mostly. Lying down, anyway.

He checked Danny over while Steve hovered nearby with his arms crossed. After asking a few more questions the doctor seemed happy enough that Danny and the baby were fine. His blood pressure was a little high, but then, it had been for a few days and they'd been keeping an eye on it and would continue to do so.

He addressed both of them as he stood. "Dizzy spells can come and go during pregnancy. It's not uncommon for this to happen. Your body is using up more nutrients than normal so I'm going to recommend taking iron supplements in addition to the prenatal vitamins you already have."

"Iron supplements? That's for anemia isn't it?" Steve asked, concerned. 

"Yes, but like I said, it's perfectly common in pregnancies, men and women. It seems to have been creeping up on Danny and today hit him a little hard. I wouldn't worry too much," he said, a tight smile on his face hiding the slight concern he seemed to have in the background behind his bedside manner. 

Danny thanked him and Steve took him outside the room to say thanks and goodbye, but Danny could hear the conversation they were having. 

"At this stage, it would be wise for Danny to stop working," the doctor told him. 

"I know, and we've cut back to the bare minimum but I don't want him at home alone, or just with Leo. What if something happened? Leo's barely 17 months old. Danny needs someone to be with him."

The doctor lifted his head in understanding. "I see, it's certainly a concern not without warrant. But perhaps there are other solutions than Danny being at work, in this quite stressful environment."

"What do you suggest?"

"He could move into the Clinic as he did before in New York."

"I don't-" Steve started. "We decided not to do that. Both of us want to be together in this. I want to be there the whole time to support him and to help and to get a chance to bond with the baby before she's born. And if you ask him, he'll tell you I'm just over protective, but I'm not happy leaving his care to other people. I know you do a good job but I have to involved."

Danny rolled his eyes as he listened through the open door and peered through the half open blinds at the two of them talking. But he stayed where he was, curious to hear more rather than get up and indignantly interrupt. 

"Okay, then perhaps he could come to the Clinic during the days, and spend evenings at home. We have excellent daycare facilities for your son and we can take care of Danny. He'd have a private room, you could spend time with him there as well, we would never turn a caring father away."

Steve nodded. "That's actually a good idea. Thanks, doc."

"You're welcome. Just know that everyone at the Clinic is here to help. If you need to reach out to us, don't hesitate."

"We will," he said, then frowned and held the doctor back. "Just out of curiosity, is there anything else we should be worried about? You may have said not to but with his blood pressure…"

"Well," the doctor sighed and moved his folded jacket from one arm to the other. "When symptoms are common for different reasons, it can be hard to tell what it might be. Then again, it could all just be a one off due to his diet or environment."

"Hence why he really shouldn't be hanging around the offices of a major crimes task force," Steve supplied. 

"Yes," the doctor agreed. "Perhaps the spells are purely down to an iron deficiency. We'll know if he improves after going on the supplements. If he doesn't, then we'll need to explore other avenues."

"Like what?"

"It could be hypertension. Again, it's something that's common, and considering he's on the older scale for pregnancy, it can affect him more. And being male makes it a distinct possibility. The concern there is that it could lead to complications."

"Complications, what… what kind of complications."

"You ever read the side of Aspirin bottle, Commander?" the doctor asked and continued at Steve's nod. "Well, then there are possible side effects that range far and wide. If you truly are concerned then all I can tell you to do is keep doing what you're doing. Monitor him, his blood pressure, his stress levels, tiredness, nausea, headaches, abdominal pains…" 

"I can do that," Steve nodded, determined. 

"You've already been doing a good job of it, from the amount of grumbling Danny does. Please, don't let these things worry you. Only a small percentage of pregnancies lead to those further complications. Have a good day, Steven."

"You, too. Thank you, again, for coming out here," Steve said as he waved the man off before coming back to lean on the doorframe. "How much of that did you hear?" he asked of Danny. 

"All of it, these walls are pretty thin and you left the door wide open."

"What do you think?"

"About spending more time at the Clinic? Leaving Five-0 solely in your hands and hoping Lou can do a decent job reining you in?" Danny stuck out his bottom lip as he considered it. "Maybe. I mean, it would give me a chance to get caught up on _Game of Thrones_ before Jerry spoils it for me."

*

Danny picked Leo up the moment the toddler staggered over to him, happy to see his fathers arriving to take him home from daycare. He did love playing there, had seemed to make friends or at least, played reasonably well with the other kids there, but nothing ever beat the smile on his face when he recognized one of his dad's coming to collect him. 

Today was both of them. After Danny's dizzy spell, Steve made the executive decision to take the rest of the afternoon off and leave the case in the safe hands of Chin, Kono and Lou. They'd bring in Jerry to do some of the grunt work on the computers and they'd be fine.

After getting Leo's squirming body strapped into the back of the car, and after selecting some godawful toddler talking book to play on cd, they were able to get going. But first, they needed to stop by at the grocery store, which should be an easier visit with both of them there to keep an eye on their young tearaway.

Rather than spending time and energy getting the buggy out the trunk, Danny carried Leo with him to the storefront until they could grab a cart. He lifted Leo into the seat, made sure he was as snug as possible and off they went. 

He ignored the looks, the double-takes and stares. His bulge was so far beyond being able to cover up at this point. He couldn't even pretend it was a beer belly considering how toned the rest of him was. Everyone by this point didn't need to guess to know there was a pregnant man in their midst, and dollars to donuts they could put two and two together and know it was Danny. 

As much as there wasn't a huge press presence in their lives, they were always on the periphery, whether that be through cases or through this latest development in their private lives, and locals were well aware of who they were. They knew Five-0, so they knew Steve as the leader and they knew Danny as the partner he kidnapped from HPD and after five years managed to get knocked up. Twice. 

Halfway around, Leo was no longer enjoying the distractions Steve kept giving him by letting him touch and play with every item going into the cart behind him, so he lifted him out and kept him on his hip for a while as Danny kept doing the important 'shopping' part of going shopping. 

"Excuse me," a small voice said from the side. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude, but you are Detective Williams, yes?"

"Yeah," Danny replied, not wanting to be mean but not wanting to be enthusiastic either, unsure yet where the old woman was going with this.

"My granddaughter, she's 24, and she's been trying for a baby herself but having no luck yet. I know the younger generation no longer believe in these things, but would it be an imposition if she could touch you? Maybe have some of that positive life energy rub off on her?"

"No, thank you. You're right, I don't believe in that stuff and we're just trying to shop in peace, so…if you don't mind," he said, plastered a smile on his face and was as polite as he could be while grimacing, still absently rubbing the spot low and to the side where he'd been intermittently cramping for days now. He turned and began pushing the cart again, heading further up the aisle.

"Don't mind him, he's gets grumpy when he's tired and the hormones are crazy," Steve said. Danny turned to see him bouncing Leo in his arms as he spoke to the woman. 

"This little one, he is yours too? The both of you?"

"Yes," Steve replied. "Our pride and joy. One of them, anyway," he kissed Leo's head and the toddler ducked into Steve's neck, his legs kicking into his hips. 

"Maybe if she could see the young boy it could help. He is a little miracle, perhaps if she…" the woman looked around her, "Stella? Stella where did you get to?"

"I'm sorry," Steve eased away. "Maybe another time. I don't want to lose track of Danny, he needs to be careful right now…"

Danny rolled his eyes as Steve caught up to him. "Seriously, Steven? Just tell them no and walk away. You get used to not caring how affronted they are. I mean, it's my stomach, my body, of course I'm not going to let strangers touch me. I'm not a goddamn sideshow freak." He said the last bit louder, making sure the people staring at him from nearby heard.

"Sometimes it's just hard to tell if you're grouchy because you're you, or because of the pregnancy," Steve said as he untangled Leo's little hand from the strip of display plastic with bags of peanuts hanging from them.

"Oh, it's always me. The hormones just remind me how many 'you knows' I don't give. It's freeing, actually," he said as he continued pushing the cart, mindful of his language around his impressionable child and the fact that they were still somewhere public. "What is it now?" he asked as Steve stopped and was staring at a shelf display while Leo wriggled and tried to reach out for stuff.

Steve pointed at the bottles. "How about Jemima?"

"For what?"

"For a name."

"I am not naming our daughter after a pancake syrup and besides, we already ruled out all names ending in the letter 'a' because we still have to decide if we're going to use Meka or Jenna as one of them."

"We could use both."

"I am not having that many 'a's in my child's name, it sounds crappy. Hence the whole 'a' letter limit. Wait, do not, don't you dare." He changed the topic as Steve began to crouch and let Leo onto the ground to walk by himself. It was going to be a disastrous move - Danny could see it a mile off. He was instantly having visions of big displays being toppled like Jenga's the minute small baby hands reached for something on the bottom.

A few moments later he was proved right as Leo calmly toppled a box of cereal onto the floor from the bottom shelf. The toddler stood over it then bent, hands on either side of the box as if trying to lift it but unable. Danny walked over, towering over him until he looked up with innocent blue eyes. 

"What are you up to, Leo? You're not supposed to touch things just to watch them fall, no matter what your other father says or does."

"Ba-ba-foo," Leo said with a giggle in his voice and held his hands out to his father. 

Danny bent down with difficulty, mindful of the bump, and picked Leo up, holding his little leg from kicking into his stomach. Leo turned his head around all over the place, trying to see the cereal box and squirmed again. He'd just wanted back into Danny's arms and now he wanted out - the little scoundrel couldn't make his mind up. "What are you saying? Is it the cereal?"

"Bwe-bwe…. ba…. foo…" Leo said again and as his little hand slapped onto Danny's chest, Steve picked up the cereal and put it back. 

"Thank you," Danny said as he watched and then handed Steve the bundle from his arms again. "Keep hold of him, I do not want to be the cause of a clean up on aisle seven."

"Yes, sir, anything you say, sir," Steve replied in mock seriousness and then began pointing at different brightly colored boxes, trying to help Leo decide which one he wanted. "Breakfast food," Steve started saying back and Danny finally got what the whole 'bee-bwe foo' thing meant. "Can you say it? Breakfast… break… fast…"

By the time they got to the check out, Danny was feeling quite tired, but he put it down to dealing with Steve and Leo misbehaving in the store together, since Steve had decided to do a weird thing with opening and closing freezer doors to make Leo laugh at the change in temperature.

"He'- he'-o." 

They paid; the clerk smiling away at Leo and waving at him as he soaked up the attention. "Bye-bye," Leo said as he kept waving. "He'-o, bye bye."

"Yes, bye-bye to the nice lady, bye-bye," Danny thanked her for her help in bagging some of the items.

Steve picked up Leo's arm and helped him wave more and then they made their way back to the car.

*

"I've been thinking," Danny said and then there was an ear piercing shriek from the floor where Leo was no longer interested in Jake or any of the Neverland Pirates and had begun taking apart his toy box.

Steve grimaced. "Leo doesn't seem fond of your thinking," he joked then slid to the floor and began picking up after the boy. "Leo, Leo, no. One toy. One toy at a time. Leo," he kept saying the name to get the boy's attention but it wasn't working very well. "Frederick Leo are you listening to me?"

"Leo!" Danny called out. When the toddler finally turned from where he was standing holding a stuffed Tiger and staring intermittently at the TV, his wide eyes would melt anyone visiting the house, but the two men knew better. "Leo, no. Do you want to watch TV or do you want to play? You can't do both. You want to watch Jake?"

"Jay Jay," Leo said then grubby hands touched the screen.

Steve dumped the discarded toys back in the box and resumed his seat while Leo was standing still once more. "So you were thinking?"

"Spending more time at the clinic."

"What about it?"

"When I'm there, I don't get looked at like a freak," Danny said. "As much as people understand men can be pregnant, it's still rare enough to be an attraction, to make people look. Add in the whole spiritual aspect that I hate and, I dunno, I didn't have to deal with any of this last time. I stayed in the sanctuary of the Clinic."

"I get it, I do, I really do," Steve said, sliding a little closer and his full attention on Danny except for those odd glances to where Leo was moving his red fire truck over the floor. "I just, maybe it's selfish, but I don't want to miss a second of being with you through this."

Danny nodded. "I wanted to do as much of this at home as possible because I know you don't want to miss out, and I don't want you to miss out and I wanted to continue as normally as possible as long as we could. I'm not saying I felt like I was locked up before, but I spent all my time in one place. Sure they took really good care of me, I had all the help I could want, the grounds were really vast, they had everything you could need as if you were going on some kind of all-inclusive vacation or something but I still missed the wider world. I wanted to have that this time."

"But it's stressful," Steve put in. "And the stress doesn't help you or the baby. And we're not going to be able to alleviate that stress with you working and being out there all the time."

Danny licked his lips and patted Steve's thigh. "I thought still being at the office would stop me worrying about whatever disaster you'd get yourself into. I think it's worse, because it's no longer me randomly considering the possibilities, but actually _knowing_ that you're going to a specific type of crime scene, that I know the details is probably making me worry more."

"Okay, so we'll talk to them tomorrow about our options and we'll pull you out and onto an earlier paternity leave. I'll step back a little, too. You and the baby are more important to me."

"Okay," Danny leaned in and pecked Steve's lips with his own, then the piercing noise that went through both their heads returned. 

"Leo!" They both said at once.


	9. Chapter 9

Danny relaxed back against Steve, the other man intermittently rubbing his hands up and down Danny's arms or holding over his bump. 

Everyone had come out for a day at the beach. Lou and Renee were lounging on beach chairs while their kids were off shopping on the street nearby (with orders to be back in an hour). Chin and Adam were relaxing with beers, still wet from their surfing. Mindy was still out there, trying again after some tips from Kono. Max and Jerry were throwing a frisbee with Nahele. Kono was snapping pictures of Grace as she held Leo steady on a board in the sand, attempting to teach him the basics of surfing.

And Danny was snug inside Steve's arms, leaning back into him. Steve may only have his swim shorts on but Danny had his XL tee - wary of people looking while on a very public beach, wary of what being in the sun for so long might do…

Steve sighed contentedly and murmured near Danny's ear, though at first it was just him randomly thinking out loud before directing anything at Danny. "Girl, boy, girl… do you think next time it would be a boy? Somehow keep the pattern going?"

"What brought this thinking on?" Danny asked, turning his head more into Steve.

"Nothing in particular. It's just nice to see everyone enjoying themselves." He placed his hands wide on Danny's belly. "Growing our family… I always wanted to have this again. I've got so many memories of being a little kid and having fun on the beach. Now I get to do it as a dad. I feel like I just never want to lose that."

"So what, you want yet another kid so it'll last longer? Not have them all growing up or something?"

"No. I just wonder what another one would be like. All the different combinations of Williams and McGarrett. What would things be like in the house, stuff like that."

"Loud. Lots of tantrums. No peace for even a moment. There were four in my household growing up, remember, I know what I'm talking about."

"I hear ya," Lou put in, eyes still closed to the sun but he'd heard enough of the conversation. "Listen to me, McGarrett. What you've gotta remember is that kids, they drain you of all the important things in life. Energy. Patience. Money. I work my ass off putting up with you on a regular basis so that my kids can put on those puppy dog eyes, make me fork over a couple of twenties and what are they gonna do with that money? Go buy new clothes. They already have plenty, but they're going to buy more. I don't get to buy no new t-shirts, let me tell you, I gotta wear the same things for years on end."

"You've just got to learn how to say no, Lou," Steve said. "Put your foot down."

Danny snorted.

"What?" Steve asked. "I'm serious. Just let them know who the boss is."

"Oh, sure thing, Commander, sir," Danny mock saluted, feeling Steve shift below him. Even if the use of his rank was for a joke, it still always turned Steve on when Danny used it. Practically Pavlovian. "So that wasn't _you_ who caved when Grace asked to buy two new magazines at the store after I'd told her she could only pick one."

"Reading is important," Steve squirmed a little more. 

"Not when it's about One Direction's favorite food, it isn't."

"This conversation has got out of hand, all I did was ask a simple question."

"You did. I've forgotten what it was now," Danny said as he tried not to laugh. 

"Danno, can we bury you?" Grace asked, casting a shadow over Danny, enough that he was able to squint up at her. 

"I don't want to put too much pressure on your sister, sweetie," Danny answered. "Maybe after I've popped."

"But Danno, I didn't say we wanted to bury her. Just you," she gave a sly smile and Danny pulled forward and looked back at Steve who just shrugged. "Kono wants to take pictures."

"I bet she does. How do you propose to bury me and not… Bean," Danny said, slowly giving in to calling her that when he didn't know what else to use. Steve's name for the spawn had become infectious, lots of people around them used it now.

"We wouldn't go too deep, so your stomach would still be above the sand. And your head. Please, Danno, please," Grace begged him. 

His body shook with laughter, but it wasn't it own. Instead, Steve's was reverberating through him. He thwacked the man on the arm. "Shut it, you," he grumbled. Everyone nearby them had cottoned on to it and the mental pictures alone were making them giggle. A chorus of pleases erupted. 

"Please, Danno," Grace said again, grabbing her brother closer, who just jumped around in the sand, looked around at everyone then turned to Danny and copied them all. 

"Peeeeeeeeee, peeee, peeee, Dam-dam-oe," he stumbled closer, little hands catching themselves on Danny's knees before his diapered bottom fell and hit the sand and he sat clapping his hands together enjoying the game. 

Danny could resist everyone else, but not his kids. "Fine, fine, but not for too long, the position isn't the most comfortable for me anymore. And get me something to put my head on."

A short while later and Danny was lying on the sand, a half-deflated beach ball under his head and he was holding tight to the bottom of his t-shirt to keep it from riding up while his two adorable and perfect children were layering sand all around him, little plastic spades batting against his legs to flatten it. Kono was helping with the lower legs, using her hands to push the sand up and over, but leaving Danny's toes wiggling outside it all.

Leo was bending down on unsteady knees, picking up handfuls of sand (which really amounted to nothing bigger than the size of a pebble each time) and was dumping them on top of Danny, joining in with the game. 

Steve was trying to help his son, holding a little castle shaped bucket with pre-filled sand in for Leo to hold over Danny's arms and empty out before patting it down over and over.The toddler was having fun, going back and forth between his father and his submerged one. He then stumbled to the side of Danny's head and collapsed on the sand beside him, hands poking over Danny's face, a finger perilously close to going up his nose and Danny fidgeted around to catch the sandy hand in his mouth instead.

He bit lightly, Leo squealing then running his hands through Danny's hair while Danny spat out the sand that had got into his mouth. 

Leo reached into the sand, tiny fingers poking around and finding a shell. He took it over to Steve and held it out for him like a present, which he accepted graciously. "What did you find Leo? Look at this, it's very nice. You want to wash it out? Come on," Steve took a bottle of water from the cooler and used a little of it to get the sand out and off the shell. Leo stood next to Steve's knees, fingers poking the shell as Steve held onto it, running them over the smooth but stubbled surface. "What do you want to do with it, huh? You want to keep it?"

"Paaa… shh, pa," Leo said, going back over to Danny's arm and patting the sand down again just like his sister was doing on the opposite side, finishing their buried father off. 

"You want to put the shell on Danno?" Steve asked, grinning.

"Dam-" Leo said again, the closest he'd yet to get to saying Danny's name, reserving his 'dada's mostly for Steve.

"Where do you want to put it?" Steve asked his son and Leo just stared at the shell, unsure. "I've got a good idea," Steve said as he took the shell and put it right on top of Danny's mouth.

"What the hell?" Danny asked form underneath it, moving it around and Steve had to reach out to stop it falling. 

Leo just laughed along with Grace, and the little boy reached for it, pressing the shell against Danny's mouth harder, all the while, Kono snapped pictures of him - head, bump and toes out of the sand with Steve, Grace and Leo tormenting him. 

Once Danny had been released from his confines, he'd done his best to shake and wipe the sand from everywhere around him, trying not to dig into uncomfortable places.

"Come on, Danno, time to hit the water and wash off," Steve reached a hand out for him.

"You guys are okay watching the kids?" Danny asked and was greeted with a round of groans and yeses because they were all perfectly capable. He watched as Leo dug around inside Kono's bag and began to lift objects out and throw them aside. He was just going to leave them to it, then. 

Steve helped Danny into the water, making sure his balance was okay against the waves, and pulled him close once they got further in. 

Danny closed his eyes as he steadied himself with hands on Steve's shoulders. "As much as I hate to admit it, you were right."

"I do love it when you say that. I take it you mean about feeling better in the water."

"Yeah," Danny nodded. "Natural buoyancy or whatever the hell it was. It works though."

"That it does," Steve agreed, sneaking a hand up Danny's t-shirt to rub his belly, feeling Bean moving around inside. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Danny's, who opened up easily for Steve to reach his tongue in. Too easily. He smiled as Steve pulled back and began spitting out grains of sand. 

"A present from your son."

"Thanks," Steve said and splashed Danny's face, who just stood, shoulders tensed up and mouth open. 

"You did not just do that."

"Oh, I did," Steve said in overblown seriousness. "And you'll never get revenge because you'd have to catch me first and I can easily out-swim a pregnant man," he said, splashing Danny harder then turning and getting away from him before Danny could react.

*

There was a suitcase at the door that was hard to miss as the party moved to Danny's house. Their morning at the beach had been for more than just a simple get together, but was heralding Danny spending less time (no time) at the office and at the Clinic instead. 

He was going to spend his days there with Leo and then Steve would take them home for the nights. But if Steve was working a case and was going to be late, they would remain at the Clinic. That was the plan. Anything after eight o'clock (since there was no way Danny was disturbing Leo once he was down for the count) then he would remain in his room there.

Which was why he needed a suitcase. It had a decent selection of clothes and toiletries and entertainment. It also had everything he'd need as he continued to grow, as well as for after the birth. They were putting together a separate one with some of Leo's things and his toys.

The way everyone was reacting, it was as if Danny was going to give birth any day now, but the reality was that there were still three months to go. Or maybe it was like he was going on an extended vacation or moving house, because everyone had to chime in and remark on various things that were being packed. Reminding him not to forget things, or telling him he didn't need something and if he did, he could come back and get it.

While Kono and Adam took over the kitchen to prepare dinner, the others who were left - Lou, Chin, Max and Jerry - were in Leo's room beginning some of the remodeling. Leo would be in the cot until the baby was born but he'd be moving out and into a small bed with a roll bar soon after. Chin and Lou had put the bed together already, remarking on the screws that were left over and assuring Danny that they were extra and not missed off from somewhere important.

They wanted Leo to get used to seeing the bed before he moved into it. Especially since the cot would still be there, just under a new tenancy. 

Steve was holding up some of Leo's clothing from a drawer. "Can we still use this for Bean? I mean… ignoring the whole gender specific thing." He shrugged. "Even if she doesn't wear it, we could keep it for the next one."

"There you go again with this 'next one' thing. There might not be a next one," Danny reminded him. 

"Maybe not, but considering that Leo and bean were both, technically, 'accidents', are we so sure there won't be more?" He looked away and analyzed more of the clothes, continuing on nonchalant despite the subject matter. "We don't have the greatest track record for willpower when there's a lack of protection going on."

Danny went red, was glad Grace was out helping Kono and Adam with the food and that Jerry had joined them. It was only the other guys to be embarrassed in front of. 

"I did not need to know that, McGarrett," Lou put in.

"What?" Steve asked, arms out. "We're guys, it's sex, and sex with Danny is awesome, I'm not turning that down just because I can't find a condom."

"But if you wanna be safe you don't have to go sticking things in places. He could do the sticking or you can do other stuff instead," Lou said then rubbed a hand over his mouth, unable to believe he was having this conversation, saying these words. 

"To be fair," Danny interceded. "I was on birth control. It just turns out that it sucked. Both times."

"I have super sperm," Steve raised his eyebrows and beamed at the other two men in the room, showing off.

"I do not believe that is possible, Commander," Max said from where he was putting together a new mobile for above the cot. "It is most likely down to fortuitous timing."

"It's my fault," Danny said. "I accused him of it when we found out about this one," he pointed to his belly. "And he's run with it ever since. Thinks he's some kind of super hero now, and his powers lie in the bedroom." 

It was Steve's turn to blush as Danny laughed. They'd maybe, on occasion, played around in the bedroom in a kind of role play scenario where Steve was a hero who had saved Danny and was getting to sleep with him as a reward and it had turned into some kind of cracked conversation where Steve had a super powered dick that would ring all kinds of pleasure out of Danny. When they were both aroused, especially when Danny had been extremely horny a month or so back it had been amazing. When you looked back on it while surrounded by friends and thinking non-sexually, the things they must have said to each other were incredibly cheesy and weird.

Steve cleared his throat and held up the tiny clothes again. "Keeping for Bean or packing away? They don't fit Leo anymore."

Danny grimaced, unsure. Chin piped up. "Pack away. If you do have another one then great, but you can hold onto them a little longer and maybe donate them to a friend who has a baby."

"Good idea, Chin."

Danny watched Steve a little longer as he selected various clothes that would definitely be used for the Bean and others he wasn't so sure of, all with this look on his face.

Danny wasn't stupid. Steve had been bringing up the prospect of 'more' for a while now, trying to bring it up in easy conversations. It was clear that Steve liked the idea of having his own Williams-McGarrett football team but Danny was more reticent. He didn't believe Steve fully understood the risks, not when he only thought of them abjectly. Danny was raised knowing them, raised to consider them at all times, had the dangers drummed into him as a matter of life and death. He was pretty much terrified of them most of the time. 

Did Steve fully comprehend what might happen? How he would feel if Danny were to miscarry? They'd been extremely lucky up to this point. There was no telling what might happen and the odds were stacked firmly against them. Steve was so full of optimism, it was hard to break it. In fact, Danny got easily swept up in it, just like Steve could so easily sweep him up into everything else in his life and for better or worse he enjoyed it. He relented. He let Steve convince him of things, change his way of thinking about stuff. It annoyed him, it annoyed him about _himself_ , but he wouldn't change it either. 

There was the fast pitter-patter of socked feet and Leo came running into the room having escaped his carers in the living room. He was straight over to his book case and began taking books out, watching them fall to the floor as he picked whatever it was he was after. Before anyone could stop him, he was turning to run back out with the choice he made when he tripped and fell over a box.

For a moment everything stopped, but all Leo did was crawl again then get back to his feet and run like nothing had happened. 

"Huh," Danny said, leaning back and releasing the tension in his body. He'd been ready for the screaming to start and it hadn't. In fact, Leo seemed like quite the resilient kid. He bounced back up all the time when he fell or knocked into things. "Guess he's okay."

*

Danny was in Steve's arms again, in a position they'd found was easy on both of them whether on the couch or in bed like this: Steve behind him, leaning on the headboard, legs wide open with Danny between them, scooched down with his head either on Steve's shoulder or chest.

Of course, being in the bedroom was the most pleasurable place to be in said position - with Steve's hand on Danny's cock driving him crazy, even if neither man could see down over the bump. It was getting more and more difficult to find positions for them to have sex, or for Steve to comfortably penetrate Danny. Although it was still possible in the spooning position, they'd given up on having Danny on hands and knees because his back had been hurting when like that for too long. 

Having Steve jerk him off from this position was one of the variety of ways they'd been able to accommodate their desires still. 

"Fuck, yes…. fuck," Danny said, his vocabulary lost to him apart from about five choice words at this point, the feelings and tension inside him building and in the next moment he was spilling over Steve's hand as he continued to drain Danny of everything. 

Steve brought his hand up, licked some of Danny's come from it then ducked his hands between their bodies and finished himself off while Danny lay on top of him, panting. He knew when Steve was done when the wetness spurted against his back. 

Steve hugged around Danny, kissing his shoulder. "With you going to the Clinic, will we even get to do this for much longer?"

"Of course. I'm still going to be here at nights. In this bed. And even if we do stay over at the Clinic, it's not like they've got cameras in the rooms. We can do what we like."

"Yeah, but Leo will be there."

Danny took a moment. "I think they'll give us some kind of adjoining room. I wouldn't want Leo to get dependent on being in the same room as us again. We'll have the new one with us when she pops out and he needs to be in his own room for that, just like he is now."

Steve's hands circled over the roundness of Danny's sweat covered stomach. "I really don't want to push my luck, but do you think we could have more? Honestly?"

Danny sighed, fidgeting his hand over Steve's thigh. "You really want more, don't you," he said. 

"I love the family we have, with all my heart. I can't help but consider the potential."

"Why don't we make sure this pregnancy goes off without a hitch before worrying about it, huh?"

"I'm just saying, it would be nice to plan this time. Leo was a complete surprise. This one? We'd only just begun exploring the possibilities when it happened. Maybe for once we could plan, decide on the best time. Stuff like that."

Danny didn't know what to say. Didn't want to burst Steve's bubble. Didn't want to talk about his age and the factors involved there, didn't want to talk about his job and how he'd like to get back to doing it properly rather than being sidelined with pregnancy, or just getting back to a life where he didn't have to contemplate doing things 'for two'. Or better yet, didn't want to talk about how shit scared he was. 

It may not look like it. He may seem okay with everything right now, but he was being the proverbial swan - all grace up top but hidden underneath were legs frantically paddling away. His body may be built to be capable, but the small percentage of men who could do this were still some freak evolutionary thing and really, no, they weren't built for this. It was an uphill struggle, it was dangerous, it was insane.

He was still in shock that Leo had come out so well. Hoping that this one would too? It felt like he was asking for a lot and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Each day as she was still healthy and growing inside him was another day he was thankful for. He just didn't think he could go through it again. 

But at the same time, this was Steve. He'd found himself loving Steve and loving how Steve loved his family. He found the man difficult to say no to. Mostly, he just didn't want to. And thinking about having another still had that spark of warmth to it. Another baby after this one? If he knew in advance it would all go well he'd be in there without a second thought.

"Like I said," Danny eventually spoke, a hand going back to Steve's neck. "Let's get through this one first."


	10. Chapter 10

It had been over two weeks and their 'arrangement' had been working out fine. Danny spent the days at the Clinic, Leo with him. When he needed rest he could be assured the Clinic's daycare was top notch and he was able to take advantage of the facilities - ones designed to reduce stress, make even simple everyday tasks more easy on a pregnant person, well, 'man', since they specialize. 

At night, he went home with Steve, who took the Camaro with him to work, which annoyed Danny greatly because it was _**his**_ car and he wasn't happy that Steve and Lou went careering around the Island doing god knows what to it. But at the end of each work day Steve showed up at his door and they went home together.

That was until this night. 

Steve couldn't come pick them up because he was in the hospital being seen for a dislocated shoulder and abrasions down one side of his body that he'd got doing some stupid stunt off a roof after a perp. The hospital was backed up, Steve wasn't considered a high priority so he'd had to wait to see the doctor. 

It was now after 10pm and still no sign. 

He'd insisted that Danny stay right where he was. 

Thing is, when they'd made their arrangements, he'd expected Steve to be late but still show up at the Clinic and spend the night there rather than in their home. He hadn't expected to be left alone overnight - something he'd not really done since shortly after being back on the Island. Despite the 'going slow' thing they'd started out with, well, they hadn't really been very slow for long. And Danny had never had the heart to tell Steve he wasn't welcome to sleep under the same roof as his child. And it was more comfortable in the bed than on the sofa. So in the end, they just wound up sleeping together on a more permanent basis without any thought or care.

He rubbed the side of his belly, the cramps returning full force, their spawn sensing Danny's anxious state and joining him in his worry. 

He paced the room, TV casting vague shadows over the floor, volume low so as not to disturb Leo in the next room.

He should have said no. Should have insisted he be picked up by one of the team so he could go be with Steve. It was a hospital after all and perfectly safe. He was stressing more knowing Steve was there and not seeing him than he would have been were he by his side through it. 

Danny was always at Steve's side when he was injured. He just was. Certainly if he could be. 

Steve had actually said that he'd considered it while Danny had been in hiding. Faking it. Having Danny be told Steve was hurt so that he could see him. He'd said if Danny would fly to Afghanistan for him, then surely he'd fly back to Honolulu. But he hadn't done it. Couldn't in good conscience lie to Danny like that and he didn't know if where Danny had been was truly where he'd needed to be - that it was too important to upset with fakery. Weirdly, Steve had been kind of right about that.

Besides, none of his family, or the doctors at the Clinic, would have allowed him to fly anyway. Certainly not once he had been further along. 

He should be by Steve's side, dammit.

He moved towards the door, as if he was going to say fuck it and go, but he stopped after one step. He couldn't. He had to think about Leo. And Steve was okay, it was relatively minor, right? He'd done his shoulder in before so he'd be fine after a while. Hell, he probably wouldn't even take more than a day off work.

He sat back down on the bed, stretching, wincing at his side, moving around trying to ease the dull pains and willing Spawn to maybe move a bit to see if that would help ease it.

There was a cry from the other room and with a wipe across his nose with the back of his hand, Danny was up again and staggering into the room, picking Leo out of his cot and trying to work out what was wrong. 

"Shhhh, it's okay, I'm right here, what is it," he rocked Leo in his arms, holding him above the bump as the baby wiped at his own eyes with pudgy hands. "Shhh, shhh."

He checked the diaper, which seemed fine. It certainly wasn't any kind of feeding time and he offered Leo a drink but he wouldn't take it. He must have been missing Steve. Danny looked to the ceiling. Their ritual for getting Leo down had been unavoidably affected by this since Leo's other father wasn't there for bath time or to be one of the last faces he saw before the lights went out. 

"I'm here, I'm here," he murmured to the child. "Everything's fine, daddy's okay, he'll be here soon, huh? You can make do with just me for a while, it's okay," his voice began to do the trick - Leo began to settle again. He wasn't happy; his usual bubbly personality was missing but he wasn't crying so that was a plus. 

Danny put him back down, tucking him in, keeping his voice even and reassuring, hoping Leo would respond to it rather than the stress in his eyes.

Finally able to turn the light out, Danny made his way back to his own bed, sitting on the end of it, feeling rather alone and small in the room that he'd complained wasn't going to be big enough when they'd first arrived.

He lifted back up again, still feeling twinges of pain and considering telling someone about it, but he was tired so instead went to the couch, propped himself in to the corner and pulled his feet up while he grabbed the comforter and spread it over himself. He hugged a cushion to his chest and waited. 

Some time during the wait he must have drifted, but it was still dark when there was a soft knock on the door, then the creak of it opening and light from the corridor spilling in; starting at a sliver then getting bigger as the door opened wider. 

When the head poked round the corner, Danny was on his feet and storming over to the idiot. For a moment he considered clocking him in the face but in the end he just threw his arms around him, getting onto his toes and trying to avoid crushing his bump. "You stupid son of a bitch."

"I'm fine, by the way," Steve responded as he hugged Danny close. 

Danny pulled back, shoving Steve's shoulders and talking low to avoid waking Leo but putting as much venom into his voice as possible. "What the hell were you thinking, huh? Jumping off a roof?"

"Actually, I jumped onto the perp," Steve started then backtracked when he saw Danny's face. "From a roof, okay, fine. Stop looking at me like that, everything's okay."

"You dislocated your shoulder. Took half the skin off your hip." Danny pointed out, then shook his head. "I've been worried sick."

"Chin called you, he said I was fine."

"Yes, Chin called but I should have come to the hospital to see for myself. Maybe get the doctors to read you the riot act for me."

"Hey," Steve stepped into Danny's personal space again, hands on his shoulders, thumbs trailing into his neck. "They did. So did Chin and Lou. I'm sorry I worried you."

"You should be," Danny agreed. He winced and rubbed his side again, turning away and heading back to the bed to try and disguise it.

"What was that?" Steve asked, concerned. 

"What?" Danny asked as he sat, a hand still over where his cramping was but feigning normalcy. 

"I saw that. You looked like you were in pain. What is it?" He came over and crouched in front of Danny. 

"It's nothing, I'm fine. Just some cramping. It happens. I think she sensed my worry or something," Danny rubbed again and Steve's hand joined him, searching over the bump.

"Is it her or is it you though? You know the doc said it's from the high blood pressure and tension. You're not supposed to let yourself get stressed."

Danny tilted his head, jutted it forward. "Not supposed to be stressed? This coming from the guy who causes all of my stress! I've been sitting here thinking about how you've maimed yourself this time and worrying myself sick. Of course I'm stressed. That's not to mention Leo being awake and crying all the time because his routine has been interrupted and he's worrying about you, too. He'll be cranky all day tomorrow." Danny eased himself into a slightly different position and rubbed again. He thought he'd be over the worry once Steve was with him, but instead his anger had taken over and he was tensing up again. Tension led to the cramping, goddamnit, he needed to calm down, it was a vicious cycle.

Steve took one look at him and got up, went round the bed and hit the button on the bedside table that would summon a doctor to them. He wasn't taking any chances with Danny, not when there were breathing exercises going on as Danny worked on calming himself.

"Come on, scoot up," Steve helped Danny move, getting him further up the bed and sitting propped among a mountain of pillows.

When the doctor arrived, he took a good look at Danny. The bustle made Leo wake again and Steve left the room to attend to their son while Danny answered questions about how long he'd had the cramping again. Measurements were taken of his blood pressure, heart rate and temperature. He had to give a urine sample as well; something about checking protein levels.

When the doctor finished he sat down on the side of the bed. "It may be in your best interests to stay here full time now, Danny," he began. "Men prone to hypertension during pregnancy are much more likely to develop eclampsia than their female counterparts and the last thing we want is for you to have a seizure at home."

"You said it might not be all that stuff. Heartburn or something viral."

"We checked the other possibilities and ruled them out. Your blood pressure lowered once you began staying here more regularly. That's why we didn't put you on medication for it but it seems we should now. We'll also need to monitor your organ functions."

"Organ function?" Steve asked, coming back out of Leo's room, closing the door quietly as he made his way back over. "Why do we need to worry about that?"

"Kidney or liver dysfunction is suggestive of preeclampsia and we'd prefer to keep Danny's hypertension out of the 'severe' category. Right now the elevated blood pressure is considered enough to warrant the diagnosis. Add in the abdominal cramping he's experienced doesn't help. I don't want to worry you unduly - many men and women suffer from hypertension during pregnancy and everything is fine through birth. But men are a higher risk factor, and if it develops further, there is a risk to both Danny and the baby."

"We'll do whatever we need to do to prevent that," Steve sat by Danny and took his hand. 

"He wants me to move in here more permanently," Danny filled Steve in. 

"Okay," Steve nodded as he considered it. "We can work with that. And if I am the cause of Danny's stress, being out there in the field without him then…" he took a moment before continuing, like saying it out loud meant the decision was fully made. "Well, then, I'll take paternity leave early. I'll step back and let the others run Five-0 for a couple of months while I hang here with my family."

"Steve-" Danny began, feeling he needed to argue against it, even if it was token. Needed to still give Steve the out. But he was cut off. 

"No, Danny, it makes sense. I won't risk the life of our baby, or you, just so I can catch a fleeing drug runner. The others can handle it. Lou and Kono can partner up and Jerry can come in more and help Chin out. It's fine. And I can get the nursery finished up quicker as well," he said with a smile, alluding to the work they were doing in Leo's room - which would now be Leo AND spawn's room - with a change of color scheme, a rearranging and addition of furniture and of course, the newly put together bed for Leo since the cot would be needed for the new arrival.

"Okay, but, only if you're sure,' Danny answered.

"I'm sure," Steve reached a hand to the back of Danny's neck and massaged into the muscles there. "Family comes first, buddy. Always has."

Danny smiled fleetingly then turned back to the doctor. "I guess that's one thing settled. So what, Steve tries to stay out of trouble and you put me on blood pressure meds and that fixes things?"

"It'll help," the doctor gathered his things together. "There's no cure. All we can do is manage the symptoms as you go further through your third trimester and hope she stays in there growing and healthy until her due date."

He took his leave, letting Steve and Danny come to terms with their new decisions. It felt like something happened at least once a week that made them reevaluate stuff in their lives. It was tiring. 

Danny leaned his head onto Steve's shoulder, hearing the sucked in wince. "Sorry, almost forgot," Danny said, about to lift up but Steve's hand in his hair stopped him. 

"It's fine, I'll live, it's just my shoulder."

"Don't do the macho thing. If you're in pain, just admit it," Danny admonished him only to hear Steve's snorted response.

"Pot. Kettle."

*

Danny was sitting on the garden bench, Steve on the ground in front of him with his legs open, letting Leo clamber over and around him as he trailed a toy truck all over the place.

Steve's shoulder had been feeling better and the scrapes down his side had scabbed over and now held a tinge of pink for the new skin coming through. During the daytime, Steve would nip out and home to take care of things there, but was never gone more than a few hours. 

Rather than missing the high adrenaline life five-0 afforded him, he'd seemed at ease and content to be off work and with Danny and Leo. Danny had expected him to be restless after a few days, but his few hours of home improvements, wall painting, furniture building and the hours he still tinkered with the marquis had been enough for his hands-on, hard work personality.

Danny's medications appeared to be working in combination with his less stressed environment or worries and he waddled into his seventh month with just the odd abdominal cramps, heartburn episodes, headaches or nausea. The doctors were cautiously optimistic as Bean seemed perfectly happy inside.

"When I was at this stage last time, mom made me her lasagna as a treat," Danny mused. 

Steve looked up at him, the sun forcing him to shade his eyes. "A treat for what?"

Danny sighed, shifted, a hand protective over the front of his t-shirt. "Because you were back in town again, demanding to know where I was and why I hadn't called in over a month. I got upset about it all and she had to calm me down with comfort food. It was the last time you flew out actually, remember? You said if I didn't tell you what was going on you wouldn't be back again. I didn't speak to you after that until I showed up at Five-0."

"I didn't mean it," Steve wrapped an arm around Leo's waist before he fell, tripping over Steve's thigh. 

"Maybe not, but you stuck to it."

"Only mostly," Steve admitted. "I may not have flown back to Jersey, but I was still in constant contact with your mom. Swore her to secrecy. We had a regular phone call once a week and she'd tell me what she could. I figured you were in some kind of therapy for everything, but that was as much as I could get from her."

Danny frowned. "She never said. Just kept telling me to be patient and she didn't think anyone here had given up on me."

"She was right," Steve absently played with Leo's discarded toy cars while the little boy bounded off along the open grass area with a noisy book, plonking himself down in a random spot to play with it. "I got worried the longer you were still away. Had no idea what could take that long and began wondering if you'd gone back to NPD. I had Duke keep checking for you being reinstated there but he kept saying there was no sign of you returning to work."

"Well, you know now," Danny inclined his head to where Leo was. "I know it was tough. I will always regret not having you with me and getting to know Leo from the off, but everything they did for me in New York helped so much that I was able to deliver him with no complications for either of us. I guess that's the most important thing in hindsight."

Steve dragged himself across the ground and knelt between Danny's legs. "And Bean is going to be no different. Trust me," Steve looked at him earnestly and he couldn't help leaning down to kiss him, it was an automatic reaction, instinctual throughout his body to do it. Steve's hands slipped over his tummy, framing it and happily holding on as they lazily traded three or four more kisses before pulling back. 

Steve lowered himself back to rest on the ground, but propped his head on Danny's thigh, a hand still around his stomach as he kissed against him. "You're going to be just fine, Bean. I promise. Danno too, you'll see."

"What if we're not?" Danny asked quietly, afraid to voice it, to take away from Steve's confidence. He wished with all his might that he could believe him but the odds were against them from the start and he'd never had these blood pressure problems with Leo and he thought he'd been just as stressed back then. 

"Hey, hey, don't do that," Steve admonished him. "I will not let anything happen to either of you. It's not optimism, it's fact. Bean is going to come out fine, and you and I are are going to live long happy lives taking care of the kids we've got and maybe even more if this all happens again. Which would make me incredibly happy. I've never doubted how capable you are of coping with anything, of being strong enough to see everything through. I don't care about the odds, I don't care about what other men have been through in the past because this is you. You defy the odds and the expectations."

Danny could have cried at the tenderness and honesty in Steve's words. Not just for the sentiment but that Steve had been able to say them out loud at all. He hated opening up about feelings. He may tell Danny he loved him all the time but those three words were just that - three words. Getting him to string whole sentences together was a revelation.

He stared at Steve in wonder for a few moments, but couldn't let the spell continue over them. He smiled, let out a huff of breath and shook his head. "Sappy, bastard. Go get your son before he wanders further away."

"Yes, dear," Steve rolled his eyes, got up with a lurch and chased after Leo, playing a game with him of getting caught and then lifting him high into the air. They both ended up on the ground, Steve on his back on the grass with Leo held above him as they both giggled and played together.

It reminded Danny about why he was genuinely excited to be having another one with Steve, despite the risks.


	11. Chapter 11

Danny woke to something clambering over him. Someone. A little someone to be precise and it was a little someone whose feet just dug into his side, right where the baby was pressing on his bladder too, and it make him come further awake quickly.

"Leo, come on, buddy, I need to get up, where's your father?"

"Hug," Leo said as he kept trying to get his arms as far around Danny as possible, little legs pressing indiscriminately wherever on Danny's body or the bed in order to get closer to his Danno. 

"Hugs, yes, hugs are lovely and Danno loves your hugs, but Danno needs to get up," he answered, even as one arm drew around Leo and squished him nice and close. 

"Damdamm-o" Leo giggled and started to jump around on the bed beside Danny. 

"Ah, Leo, no. No jumping, it's not safe," he admonished and Leo stopped and simply stared at him, unsure if he was in trouble or if Danny was playing a game - the distinction too difficult for his little brain and he looked at Danny like he was short circuiting. He gave another tentative jump and immediately Danny scowled at him. "Ah! No! No, Leo."

"No," Leo repeated and fell onto his bottom onto the soft bed, hands splayed and pressing at Danny's bump. "Bee," he said. 

"Yes, bean," Danny nodded. "Bean is fine but no jumping. Dear God, everyone in this family is calling this thing Bean, I'm going to kill Steve. STEVE!" he yelled, only for the other man to come out of the joining bathroom, towel around his waist and wet hair sticking up all over the place.

"Yes, dear?" He asked around the toothbrush poking out of his mouth. 

"Is there a reason I have a two year old bouncing on top of me to wake me up?"

"I tried getting you to wake and you wouldn't. My kisses weren't working so I thought his might. And he's not two. He's still got four months to go, that's a long time in baby years."

"Whatever," Danny wanted nothing more than to flop back onto the bed, but he had urgent needs. He swung his feet off the bed, lamenting the fact that he couldn't see them and stood. He turned to lift Leo from where his arms were outstretched to Danny and he walked around the bed and headed to where Steve was. 

He handed the boy over, who reached up for the plastic stick hanging out of Steve's mouth and 'boinged' it. 

"You okay?" Steve asked around it. 

"Peachy," Danny muttered. "You have no idea how lucky you are to have full bladder control."

"Bean will be out in three weeks or so and then you'll take bodily functions for granted again, just like the rest of us."

"Oh, sweet lord, I can't wait," Danny threw his head back as he peed. It wasn't like he needed to look down, he'd lost the ability to see his own dick a while ago. These days he just aimed and hoped. 

"Now that you're up, get dressed."

"Why?" Danny asked, not that it mattered much. All he was going to do was wear sweat pants and a large t-shirt regardless. They wouldn't be leaving the clinic and besides, he'd given up on caring how he looked to anyone about a couple of weeks previously. 

"Because Grace is coming by today and I think it'll be nice to have fun as a family."

"By fun you mean sitting on the couch with some Disney films, right?"

"Nope," Steve smiled and laid a minty kiss on his lips. "Exercise is good for you. Make sure you put trunks on underneath your pants."

"Steven," he moaned. "Am I going to hate you today?"

Steve just smirked at him and went about getting himself ready. Because he could easily beat Danny in anything speed related, he organized Leo as well. Together, they all traipsed to the communal area of the clinic where they were able to get an easy breakfast. Danny's was specifically designed for him by the doctors and he had the same reaction to it everyday but always ate the whole thing rather than getting a finger wagged in his face about how important it was and how filled with vitamins and supplements. He swallowed the last of his juice with his blood pressure meds and they were ready to start their day. 

Grace arrived shortly after 10am and ran straight to Steve to hug him. She moved to Danny's side so that he could better reach an arm around her and she got onto her toes in order to kiss his cheek. 

"How's Bean?" She asked excitedly. The closer they got to the due date, the more bouncy she got like it was December and she couldn't wait until Christmas.

"She's fine," Danny answered and rubbed his belly. Seriously, he'd even heard one of the nurses refer to his bump as the Bean, which meant Steve's influence was far and wide. "And what am I? Chopped liver? You're not going to ask how I am?"

"How are you, Danno?" She asked with an eye roll. 

"I'm much better now that you're here," he kissed the top of her head. 

"Uncle Steve, are we going swimming first?"

"If that's what you want, then sure," Steve answered and shrugged at Danny like it wasn't his fault that Danny had swim trunks on and was going to be forced into a pool. Though, he had to admit, he still did like being in the water as it relieved him a little of the shifting weight inside him. 

The clinic's pool wasn't big, nor was it any good for Steve to use for lengths as it was rounded and shaped with a curve. It was more for aesthetic than for practicality. While he and Grace got in, Steve was using the treadmill. The swimming pool was merely part of the gym and it was a small enough gym that everything was close by with no barriers and a natural light above the pool let in by a sky light. 

Leo was being held up on the steps of the pool by Grace who was making sure he was okay while Danny stood and bobbed around a little further in. He had a hand over his stomach. Bean had been quiet. He'd barely felt her moving since he'd gone to bed the night before, but he was trying not to let it worry him. She was probably just sleeping or something and would remind him of her presence later on. 

He stayed to the edges at the shallower end, and made his way closer to where Grace and Leo were splashing each other with high pitched giggles that reverberated around the whole echoey space. He put his hands under Leo's armpits from behind and lifted him up and out of the water, the drops falling from his toes and back into the pool as Grace swam off, taking the opportunity to go deeper into the water.

He held Leo close, letting him practically sit on the bump while they moved around, Leo entranced as always by the way the water moved and parted for them, his hands just on the surface, feeling the way it all shifted. 

About twenty minutes after they'd been in, fingers already beginning to prune and Danny considering getting out for a while, Steve joined them, coming up from behind, striding through the water and putting his arms around Danny and Leo in one fell swoop. 

"DADDY!" Leo practically yelled in his face as he looked over Danny's shoulder to see Steve. "DADDY!"

"Shhhhh, little man, we can hear you," Danny admonished him. Leo was in a stage where he'd discovered more and more about his voice and what it could do. And he had no volume control sometimes. 

"Daddy's here," Steve slinked around Danny's body and took Leo from him with a roar and held him high before hugging him close. He got onto his back and let Leo use him as a float to keep him above the water. Leo climbed over Steve, got his pudgy arms around Steve's neck and held tight as they went for a swim into the deeper water. The small pool didn't give them a chance to get very far or gather any speed, but Leo enjoyed playing with Steve this way. Danny could clearly see Steve's personality shining through Leo when they were near water. He had a feeling his son would be surfing before he could ride a bike and he was not looking forward to it. 

"Dow!" Leo shrieked as Steve spun them around and got his feet on the ground at a point where he was the only one who could stand in his freakish tallness. "Dow dow down!"

"Under?" Steve asked.

"Yeah!"

In the next moment Steve exaggerated taking a deep breath and both he and Leo disappeared under the water's surface. Danny's heart stopped every time, but he never let Steve know it worried him. He knew the boy was fine, knew that babies had an instinctual way of holding their breath under water and took to it all more easily than anyone older, but a part of him always worried. He knew it came from his own history with water and he didn't want to pass any of his fears onto his children. Of course, a healthy fear of certain things was good for you, as far as he was concerned. He didn't want his kids to be cavalier with their lives. He just didn't want them to develop the myriad of fears and negative outlooks he knew he carried. He wasn't proud of them, but they were a part of him and somehow he'd found someone to share his life with who put up with them. 

He was smiling when Steve and Leo resurfaced, both sputtering to rid their faces of the water.

He felt a twinge in his side again. It was sharper than he'd experienced before. He turned and moved back so he could sit on the steps of the pool. 

"Danny, you okay?" Steve asked from the other end where Grace had just dive-bombed in and splashed her brother and Steve.

"Yeah, just need to sit for a while."

"Danny, if you don't feel good," he started to warn Danny but was interrupted by Leo. 

"Dam…. Dam-o, Dam-o," he said and Steve walked them back to the shallows and sat next to Danny so Leo could be satisfied. He tried to hand their son over, but Danny waved him off. 

"Leo, everything's okay, Danno is just resting, play with daddy," he tried to placate him but Leo's hands still stretched out to him. 

"Hugs," he said in answer.

"You want Danno hugs?"

"Yeah," Leo answered and Steve set him down to stand on the top step, the water reaching past Leo's knees. He kept a hand out in case he fell, but he just stumbled into Danny and pressed his whole body against him. 

Steve disappeared to go be with Grace. He'd been teaching her dive techniques and though they couldn't do much in a small pool, he'd been walking her through the form and helping her get her sitting dive perfected. 

Leo stood on his top step and watched them, eyes wide. He was enamored with his sister and thought the world of her.

Grace fell from where Steve was holding her up and for a moment Danny was worried she'd hurt herself, but when she surfaced, she and Steve high-fived and Danny rolled his eyes. He put an arm around Leo and bent his head close. "Let it be known that your daddy is a menace to society at large and to me in particular. A menace."

"Mence," Leo repeated. "Mence. MENCE!"

"That's right, Boo, he's a menace. Don't forget that," he put his hand up and Leo smacked it like he'd seen his sister and father do, but then he just kept hitting Danny's palm over and over until Danny trapped his hand and brought it to his mouth and growled like a lion as he pretended to eat it. 

Leo stole his hand back and bumped his head into Danny's, giving a lion-cub level of roar back at him and tried to nip at his nose with his mouth.

A moment later he was distracted and climbed out of the pool, got to his feet and ran over to the chair where the towels were.

"Careful, buddy, it's slippy there," Danny lifted up to his feet and followed, glad to be moving again and he caught up to where Leo was raking through a bag of toys. He lifted up a plastic blue boat proudly and began to waddle back to the pool. "Oh, no, no, no, Leo, stop," he warned, envisioning Leo falling and cracking his head open. 

As Leo stopped and turned back to Danny, eyes wide, it gave enough time for Steve to get to the side of the pool Leo had been running to. 

"Walk, Leo, carefully," Danny got to his side and reached down for him, holding him by the upper arm as they made their way the last few steps to the poolside. 

Leo bent down, and placed the toy on top of the water. He stood again and grinned and clapped his hands as he watched it float and bob around. Steve got his attention and encouraged him closer. 

"Jump, sweetheart, jump in," he said and before Danny could voice his concerns, Leo had squealed and jumped off the side of the pool into the water - and Steve's arms - with a big splash. 

Danny pressed a hand over his heart as he struggled to sit on the edge, legs in the water. Grace put her arms on the side of the pool by his thigh and her chin rested on them. 

"It's okay, Danno. Uncle Steve knows what he's doing."

"If by that you mean inducing my heart attack, then you're right," Danny answered. 

"It's okay, Bean-baby," Grace patted Danny's tummy as they all watched Leo and Steve follow the little boat around in the water. "Danno's always like this, don't let the high blood pressure get to you."

"Come here," Danny encouraged Grace to sit alongside the edge of the pool with him. He wrapped his arms around her as best he could and squished her close before kissing the top of her chlorine smelling hair. "You're the best big sister these two could ever hope to have."

"And you're the best Danno," she said back to him. "Uncle Steve!" She called out. "Come catch me!" She got to her feet.

"Aren't you getting a little big for this?" Danny asked.

"Maybe, but it's fun. Take Fred-head for us, Danno," she asked of him and Steve handed Leo back up out of the water to stand next to Danny, held tight so that he couldn't run away on the slippery surface and he backed up. 

When he went far enough, he signaled to Grace that he was ready. She took a few steps back then launched herself into the air and came crashing down practically on top of Steve.

"Lift me!" She laughed and Steve got hold of her waist and brought her out of the water and above his head. 

"Nobody puts baby in a corner, huh," Steve laughed with her and then let himself fall back as Grace tumbled over his head and back in.

Leo watched with glee, little feet stomping around. "DADDY! DADDY ME!"

Steve came closer, a hand swiping over his face to get the water out of his eyes and nose and then he waited, encouraging Leo to jump again into his arms in the water and he repeated what he'd down with Grace, holding him aloft out of the water, only with Leo, he was careful as he brought him back down again. 

"Come on, Danno, come back in," Grace waved her hand at him. 

"Damm-o!" Leo repeated and Danny gave in. 

"Alright, I'm coming," he moaned half-heartedly as he slid his body into the water again and made his way over. Grace held to his side and Steve handed Leo over to him before doing his best to get his arms around his whole family and it felt like a picture perfect postcard of them all together until the fun was interrupted. 

"Uh-oh," Leo said and began to wrinkle his face up, his hands pulling at his swim-diaper. 

"What is it?" Danny asked him. 

"Poo."

*

Lunch was simple and they had it in the small commissary. There were a few other patients around, but Danny was the only pregnant one of the men there. Two were in to get traditional vasectomies, and another two were in to get, well, whatever you called it when men who were capable of carrying babies got their insides tied up so they couldn't. He'd spoken with one of them before. There was a history of difficult births in the family with genetic defects and he was gay so he didn't want to pass anything down a generation that way through his body. Let alone being obviously scared of doing the same kind of thing Danny was. It didn't do anything for his nerves or his blood pressure after he'd talked with him and Steve had spent that night calming him down again when he'd had a panic attack about the baby coming out with all sorts of problems or being stillborn and he'd cried he'd been so emotional about it. 

He was embarrassed the next morning, but Steve had waved it off on the hormones and let it be. 

Danny didn't eat much. He tried, but he was bored with the diet he was on even though he knew he had to carry on with it for at least another three weeks, and on top of that, he simply wasn't that hungry. Maybe Bean was squashing his stomach up and making it smaller. 

Instead he'd turned to Leo and was helping him with his lunch. It was all over him, in his bib, over the high chair. There were carrot sticks on the floor… 

Once Leo refused to eat anymore and had limited his demands to only wanting juice, Danny turned to Steve. "Babe, can you clean the floor up for me when you get everything else?"

"Sure," Steve answered, grabbed a baby wipe from the packet and started cleaning Leo's face up, then his hands before taking out another wipe to help get the mess on the high chair.

"Oh, we can get that for you, it's okay," one of the staff said as she cleaned the table beside them. 

"No, I refuse to force you to clean up this kind of mess. We made it, we'll clean it up," Danny answered. 

"We're used to mess," she argued. 

"My sister's been a waitress for twenty years," Danny told her. "And I did a little bit of the same when I was in college. I know what it's like and all this gross baby stuff is our domain."

She asked if he was sure one more time, to which he replied he was positive and she let them be as Steve lifted his head back from where it was ducked down to get the carrots from the floor. Leo patted his hair while he was down there and huffed a laugh when he saw what Steve was holding.

"Oh, you think it's funny do you? Throwing your food around and making daddy clean it up?" Steve asked of him. 

"Yeah," Leo answered and then stuck the juice cup back in his mouth and took big swallows. 

"You're a menace," Steve told him. 

"Mence," Leo nodded. "Daddy mence."

"So is this when we go watch movies and curl up on the couch?" Danny asked as they sorted themselves out.

"No," Steve answered, beginning to undo Leo's restraints. "We're going outside for a little bit. It's a lovely day."

Steve was about to pick up Leo when he made his protests known. "Dam-o! Oh! OHHH!" he yelled, feet kicking into the chair.

"Danno's right there," Steve said back. 

"Daddy no!" Leo continued and fought instead to go to Danny.

"Okay, Danno will carry you," he relented and picked Leo out and up into his arms, one leg behind his back and the other lying over Bean. "But I can't carry you for long, I don't have the energy," he warned even though Leo would ignore him. 

Grace held hands with Steve despite being too old for it, but when she tried to drag away from Steve, he wouldn't let her and turned it into a game where he ruined her teenage sensibilities and draped over her like a blanket and kissed her grossly as she tried to get away from him.

They found a spot in the garden by a bench and Steve laid out a blanket on the grass. It was where they usually gravitated to as the bench was easy for Danny to sit on, and the play area was nice and close to keep an eye on Leo.

Danny set Leo down, despite the protests and Leo fought to climb up on the bench beside him instead and leaned into his side. He was being clingy today and it was probably time for his nap but he wanted to have some more fun.

"Go play," Danny encouraged him. "Go tire yourself out, please. Look, there's the slide you like. Go play on the slide."

"Sli," he repeated. 

"Grace, show him how the slide works again," he called to her and she got up and moved to it. It was too small for her to do much on but she climbed the small steps and sat before exaggerating her 'whee' as she came down it. 

"Gace!" Leo waved at her. "Sli Gace"

She came over and took his hand and they made their way to the slide together. Leo was able to get up the steps himself with only a little wobble, and he took his time coordinating his legs onto the top and then to sit before sliding down to where Grace was waiting for him, cell phone out and snapping pictures. 

The two continued playing and Steve flopped down beside Danny. "Tired?"

"A little. It's normal, I guess." He rubbed his belly. Something felt weird and Bean was still being very quiet. "My back's sore. I think I've been carrying Leo too much today."

"Here, turn around a little, let me see," Steve coaxed him round, away from him. He leaned his arm on the back of the bench and moaned appreciatively as Steve sunk his fingers in low on Danny's back, massaging against the muscles and tendons.

"That's good, don't stop."

"Maybe we should step up your doctor visit for today."

"We pushed it back because Grace was going to be here. Doing it later is fine, it's just a little backache."

"If you begin feeling worse, I'm going to be insisting you see someone about this," Steve told him in a tone that brooked no argument but Danny just laid his head on his arm where it was on the bench and enjoyed the feeling of his massage. 

After a while, Steve slowed down his movements and wasn't paying so much attention to Danny. It made him open eyes he hadn't realized were closed to see Leo sitting in the bucket seat of a swing going really quite high as Grace pushed him. 

He was squealing like crazy to go higher but when she pushed him more his face scrunched up and his happiness instantly turned to distress. Steve had to abandon Danny and go to help him out. Grace's face fell, feeling terrible for making her brother cry. 

"I didn't mean it," she said as Steve lifted Leo out and held him close, bouncing him in his arms like he did when Leo was younger and needed soothed. "I'm sorry, Uncle Steve."

"It's not your fault, Grace. Leo doesn't know his own limits, that's all."

They made their way back over to the blanket and all sat down. Grace and Steve began playing with building blocks, trying to get Leo's attention onto the game instead of his tears and eventually he gave in, distracted enough to play back. 

Danny stood. "I'm just going to the toilet. I won't be long," he said and Steve waved him off with only a fleeting look of concern. Danny needing to go regularly wasn't new. Bean had been pushing on his bladder for months.

He may have taken longer that he realized, thinking he needed to go more than he actually did. When he pulled back and looked into the pan, it wasn't the color he was expecting. It was tinged pink. 

Had he been bleeding somehow?

He ran his hands over himself and looked, but he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He dismissed it, thinking he'd let his doctor know later on about it. Right now he wanted to get back to spending time with his family. 

When he sat on the bench again, Steve lifted to be beside him and pressed a hand to his forehead. "'You okay?"

"You keep asking me that today. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look a little pale."

"Nothing to worry about." He watched Leo and Grace instead of meeting Steve's eyes. "Well done, little man," he said to Leo as he got the round block into the round hole.

"Okay, let's pack up," Steve announced. 

"What?" Danny looked up at him and Grace and Steve shared a glance and began putting things together. "I'm fine."

"Leo needs his nap and we can all sit and watch a movie, just like you wanted," Steve reminded him and he agreed enough that he helped pick up a few bits and pieces as they all headed inside, pointedly ignoring how Steve and Grace continued to fawn over him like he was sick.

Once Steve got Leo down without complaint, they turned on the DVD player and Grace went about choosing what to watch. When the theme tune started, Danny turned to her. "Jurassic Park? Really?"

"Uncle Steve likes pointing out the places they filmed it," she answered. 

"Just let's keep the volume down, I don't want the roars to wake your brother."

"Okay," Grace agreed and sat on the arm chair and pulled her legs up while Steve curled up with Danny on the bed. 

They could have been no more than half an hour into the film when Danny rubbed harder at his stomach. Steve laid his hand over it. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Danny answered quietly, not wanting to alarm Grace and certainly not wanting to panic Steve. "She's not moving much and there's… something feels sore in there."

"Sore? You're in pain? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I just did, didn't I?" Danny asked. 

Steve saw the grimace pass over Danny's face and then immediately turned to hit the call button beside the bed, not hesitating to get the doctor hurrying to them. 

He got to his knees beside Danny and tried to make him more comfortable. "Grace, can you go get a wet wash cloth for me?" he asked, and Grace turned the TV to mute and ran into the bathroom. She came back and hovered over them while Steve wiped down Danny's brow. 

"Is Danno okay?" she asked him. 

"He'll be fine, don't worry. We just need the doctor to take a look."

"Danny? Steve?" the Doctor asked as he came in accompanied by two nurses. "What's happening?"

"He's in pain. The baby isn't moving much."

"Okay, give me a little room," the nurses helped move Steve out of the way and both he and Grace held onto each other as they watched. "Danny?" The doctor continued. "What's been going on?"

"She's been quiet all day. I've had some backache, a few small cramps. Uh…. oh, there may have been some blood. I dunno."

"Blood?" Steve and the doctor asked at the same time.

"In my pee. I dunno, it wasn't the right color but there wasn't much."

The doctor continued his examination, testing Danny's levels, gauging where the pains were by pressing over him, asking various questions, even repeating some of them to get clearer answers.

Then all of a sudden Danny curled into himself more as pain lashed through him like a knife to his gut. "Oh my God! What was that?" he asked, his voice a higher register than he'd expected. 

Steve grabbed for Danny's hand, coming in close and not caring what the doctor might say about it. "I'm here, Danny, you're fine."

"Get the stretcher in here, and prep the theater," the doctor turned to the nurses and began ordering them around, his tone was authoritative and urgent. 

"What is it, what's going on with him?" Steve asked. 

"I'm not sure yet," the doctor turned worried eyes to him. "But the baby is in distress. As is Danny. We need to get them to surgery. Now."

Danny threw his head back as another wave of pain came over him. He screwed his eyes shut and yelled out, choking it off into a sob. He could hear crying. Someone was crying. A baby. And then Steve was gone, his hand was cold and loose, no longer held tightly. 

He stared at the ceiling and it began to get fuzzy in front of his eyes. He tried to bring a hand to clear them but it was too heavy for him to move. The pain struck through him again and he felt himself tensing up. Too much tension. His whole body seemed like it could shatter into a million pieces and his breath stopped, held, his lungs freezing solid with the rest of him. 

"He's going into shock," he heard distantly as his body was jostled and the ceiling began to change, to move. Something was placed over his mouth and there was air movement but it felt hot and restricting. Faces appeared and disappeared above him but he couldn't concentrate on them. 

His baby. His baby was hurting him, hurting itself.

And in that moment, he felt something inside him drop like a hammer onto his heart. 

They were dying.


	12. Chapter 12

Steve paced the hallway. He had no idea how long he'd been doing so, but there must have been a path worn into the linoleum from his worry. 

Grace was sitting in a small plastic seat, holding Leo close while he played with some toy cars.

"Steve?" A voice rang out and Steve looked up hopeful only to see Chin rushing in followed by Kono. "How is he, have you heard?"

"How did…?" Steve asked. 

"I texted them," Grace piped up. "I thought they should know, too. About Danno."

"Thanks, Grace," Steve attempted to smile at her, even though right now he wasn't sure if he could ever genuinely smile again. If Danny and their daughter didn't make it…

It didn't bear thinking about. 

Chin's hand landed on Steve's shoulder. "He's strong. He'll be okay."

"It's been three hours already," Steve said, voice taking on a mildly pleading voice. "Three hours and we haven't been told anything, that can't be good."

"Shin Ko-ko," Leo said, his voice breaking the quietness in the room and Kono headed over to him and picked him up. 

"Hey, little guy, how are you?" She asked. 

"Is Lou at HQ?"

"Samantha had a singing thing. He and Renee are there. We didn't want to worry him. Not yet," Kono answered. "What about Danny's parents?"

"I haven't even thought about-" Steve cut himself off and wiped hands down his face, clawing at his eyes. "I don't know what to do," he said, voice lost, unsure. 

"Hugs," Leo called out, looking around him. 

Steve shook himself out of his worry. His family came first and Leo needed him, too. Needed him to be strong. "Hey, tiger, come on, daddy has hugs for you," he bent a little closer, his big hands grasping around Leo and pulling him from Kono's hold and into his own. 

"Daddy no, Dam-o. Dam-o hugs. DAM-O!" Leo called out and Steve sniffed, wiping at his eyes. 

"Danno can't hug you right now, okay? Danno isn't here."

"DAM-O!" Leo shrieked and began to cry. Steve didn't know what to do, all he could try was to shush Leo gently and hope he'd settle down. 

He walked away from the small group and into the corner of the room. He held Leo's head tightly to his shoulder and ducked his own into his baby's neck and felt the tears leaking from his eyes. "Daddy's here, okay? Daddy's right here, everything's fine."

"Danno," Leo lamented and it was the first time he'd seemed to be able to say 'Danno' properly. "Wan' Dam-o."

"I know you do, buddy. So do I. I really, _really_ want him to be here right now but he's not. He got hurt and the doctors need to take care of him."

"Danno bee," Leo softly hit his hands on Steve's shoulders.

"Bean is hurt, too," Steve sniffed as he tried to explain to Leo, even though he was far too young to understand. "Both of them are hurt real bad and we can't see them right now."

"It's because of the baby, isn't it," Grace said and everyone's eyes turned to her. "The baby might die. Or might kill Danno."

"Male pregnancies are difficult, Grace. Your dads knew that going in," Kono said.

"I know but Uncle Steve was always so confident and now look what's happened." She was getting upset again, Steve could see it, see where it was going: she was going to blame him and he was going to shoulder it. "And you want him to have another? If he even survives?"

"Grace-" he began but didn't know what to say. 

She stood and stomped over to him, hitting his shoulder but being careful to avoid Leo. "He always said you were trying to get him killed, I never thought it was true!" Her body was shaking with rage and fear and her eyes welled up. "If anything happens to him it's going to be all your fault and all because you wanted to make our family bigger and bigger. Just because yours fell apart when you were a kid. And now you're doing it to ours, too! You said you loved him! Why would you do this to him?!" She pushed by him and ran down the corridor.

"I'll… go," Kono gestured to follow and went after her, heading towards the ladies room.

Steve stood, holding a now quiet Leo close, bobbing him up and down as he turned back to Chin, not bothering to hide the tears that were streaming down his face. "I'm never going to be able to forgive myself."

"For what?" Chin asked.

"Grace is right, I pushed for this baby. I wanted it - and more - and when we didn't use protection… I mean, Danny got caught up in the moment and was fine with risking it, but while we were having sex I had genuinely been thinking that a baby might be a possibility and I enjoyed it, every moment of it, thinking we might be creating something. I never said anything to him and maybe that was wrong, maybe I took advantage of him somehow, I don't know. But this whole pregnancy - I loved it. Loved taking care of him and Bean like I never got a chance to do with Leo and…"

"You're talking in the past tense," Chin warned.

"I can't lose him, Chin. I _can't_. Leo and Grace can't lose their father. And I can't lose that baby. Danny would be devastated. I'll fall apart for either of them. Both. I don't even know."

"Steve, we don't know anything yet."

"I promised him. I _**promised ******_him! I said it would be okay." He held just too tightly to Leo, making him squirm in the hold and fidget.

"Mr. McGarrett?" a soft voice asked and his heart sank. Everyone in the clinic called him Steve, if they were using his last name...

"Oh God," he said and felt himself fall into a plastic chair, legs no longer able to hold him up. "Oh God," he repeated, taking in more, seeing her downcast face. 

"They're still working on Danny, but the doctors thought you might need an update."

"He's still alive," he breathed out. If they were still in there, then he was still alive, they were trying. 

"He suffered from a placental abruption. His hyper-tension was most likely a factor along with his age and gender and the fact that this is the second child he's carried. It's not common, but it's not uncommon either." 

He ignored the medical terms he had no clue how to translate and focused on the important parts. "What does that mean for him? For the baby?"

"They've been monitoring him. We were hoping he might settle, might be able to wait until term but…" she stopped for a moment and took a sizable breath. "Danny is in too much distress. They started an emergency C-section a few minutes ago."

"Can I see him? Can I be there for the birth?"

"I'm sorry, but there's too much activity."

"Too much risk, you mean. That they might die," he corrected her and her face softened from the tension she was carrying to something with a lot of sympathy. 

"As soon as we have more, I'll come back to you."

As she walked away, Steve let his head fall back to hit against the wall and closed his eyes. They were tired and fuzzy and he felt the mix of dried and wet tracks on his face and didn't care. "She wasn't due for another three weeks," he said, his mind going to basic thoughts about the situation, things he had control of. Facts. 

"Just because she's being born early, doesn't mean she won't be healthy."

"We hadn't even decided on a name yet," he said. Mind wandering. He frowned over at Chin. "What do you think of Jenna? Do you prefer it to Meka? We couldn't agree. Nor on a middle name because Danny wouldn't let us use both of those."

"Steve, you and Danny can decide on this after she's born. You don't have to name her right away. Leo wasn't. It took six months to finalize his birth certificate."

"Frederick Leo," Steve mumbled as he rubbed Leo's back. "Maybe the new one will want to go by her middle name, too. Or maybe we shouldn't confuse Leo so much, you know? What if we used his full name more, got him used to it. He's too young to understand what his name really is but he only really responds to 'Leo'."

Chin was there, right beside him, a hand on his shoulder and the other helping him hold Leo. "Steve, you're babbling."

"So I liked Mabel, but only if it follows Jenna. 'Jenna Mabel'. The alliteration with Meka isn't so nice. Danny was thinking Daisy. He liked it for both. 'Jenna Daisy' or maybe 'Daisy Meka'. Either way round, I guess, for either of them. There were a few others, uhm, Emily. Janet. Skye, maybe."

"How about you wait until you meet her?"

"Yeah," Steve gave a curt nod and hid his face down towards Leo, kissing over his head, noticing that he was nodding off in his arms and holding onto him like a lifeline, his only tangible connection to Danny right now. 

"Do you want me to take care of him for a while?" Chin asked, indicating Leo and Steve balked, pulling away from Chin's hand. 

"No, I got him. I've got my baby," he said, voice taking on a determined tinge. "I'm not letting anything happen to him."

*

When Grace and Kono returned, they sat as far away from Steve as possible on the other side of the room. Grace still wasn't happy; still shot Steve looks that blamed him for everything going wrong and he let her. He didn't even attempt to refute how she felt. He blamed himself, too.

Chin filled them in on what the nurse had said and Steve continued to sit rocking Leo and ignoring everything else, just concentrating on taking care of his baby. It was taking forever. He had no idea how long it had been now. The seconds ticked by agonizingly slowly but the minutes rushed by in a daze.

Lou, Renee and Samantha arrived and stood looking around the assembled group. Samantha went right over to Grace and sat beside her, hugging her. Lou attempted to get something out of Steve but he was practically in a trance as he waited on news.

As the others let him be, keeping watch on him and Leo out of the corners of their eyes and with murmured conversation, Steve waited and waited. Waited. Waited.

Danny was going to be okay. He had to be okay, he'd promised him. And Danny was strong and brave and there was no way he'd let this beat him. But what about Bean? Was she strong enough? And maybe some things were out of their control. Or maybe the doctors weren't good enough... anything could happen, whether Danny and their daughter were strong or not.

Footsteps in the corridor drew Steve's attention again and he was on his feet. The nurse was coming closer and she was carrying something. Something tiny and wrapped up. 

He handed Leo carefully to Lou and Renee and took a few tentative steps closer. 

The nurse looked up and him and smiled. "Congratulations, Steve. This is your daughter," she handed the tiny, tiny package over to him and he was immediately hit with all sorts of emotions. Love, relief, concern, happiness, worry. The love was the most all-consuming as he took in the wrinkled form of his daughter. She'd been washed but not much else. "We need to take her to the NICU but we wanted to give you the chance to hold her first."

"Is she okay?" he asked as his finger touched down her face and into her perfect little hand. "Is she… hurt?"

"She's a pre-term baby, so we need to keep an eye on her, but so far, so good."

Steve choked, his smiled splitting his face and the tears running free again. His daughter, this was his perfect angel of a daughter and she was in his arms. He kissed the top of her head as she made sputtering noises and her eyes stayed firmly crinkled shut.

"Danny?" He asked. "Can I see him, I want him to see her."

The nurses face fell and so did Steve's heart. "Danny is still in surgery."

"But he's going to be okay. He has to be," Steve said and felt the others crowding closer to him. 

The nurse looked around, taking them all in. "Danny isn't doing so well. He hemorrhaged quite a bit, and it's still a factor. He lost a lot of blood and its been difficult to control. It moved into the abdominal cavity-" she was cut off by the sound of an alarm coming from down the corridor where the surgery was. Danny was the only one being worked on, it could only be from there. "Excuse me," she said and turned, running back down. 

"No, nonono," Steve said. He was about to run after her but he had to be careful with the bundle in his arms. "Danny," he choked out and felt his friends and family around him trying to support him but they couldn't. How could they? This was Danny and no one loved Danny like he did. As he looked at the door where the nurse was headed, it seemed further and further away, but it hadn't moved and neither had he. The gulf between him and Danny was too big, too wide. He felt a deep-seated need to be there beside him, to help him, but he was here. Taking care of their new daughter. And Grace and Leo. He was trying to be responsible but he just wanted to be in that room with Danny, or take his place.

Chin was the one who bravely stepped forward, coming up beside him and looking at the bundle in his arms. "Steve, don't give up hope. Danny might still be okay."

"Hope," Steve parroted back derisively but still actively listening. He cradled his baby girl in his arms carefully. She seemed to sense the mood in the room and was going to give a cry and he needed to soothe her. 

"Hope's a powerful thing," Lou said. "And this is Danny. If anyone can pull through, it's him."

The alarm system quietened down again and they didn't know what to make of it. Was the situation over? Better? Resolved? Or was it that there was no need to keep trying because… no, he couldn't think that. The others were right, he had to be positive. Had to hold onto hope.

He sat down again with his new baby in his arms. "Hi, sweetheart. I'm your daddy. Remember my voice? I've been talking to you for a long time, little bean."

She nuzzled into him, somehow knowing she was safe with him. The others slowly came closer, crowding around, getting their chance to welcome the new girl into their lives. Grace came closer, meeting her new sister, but still tense around Steve even as she commented that this new one looked more like Steve than Danny, certainly going by the dark wisps of hair matted to her head. 

It was about twenty minutes later that the nurse returned, schooling her face and doing her best to plaster on something positive. 

"What happened? What's going on?" Kono demanded, letting Steve rest on his seat with his daughter but asking the questions he needed answers to. 

"There were more complications. Danny had lost a lot of blood, like I said. It put his heart under great stress."

"Did he…?" Kono asked, not wanting say the word 'die' but everyone heard it anyway.

"We stabilized him. For now. The doctors are still optimistic. Danny's not giving up and neither are they. We should really get this little girl into the Neonatal ICU. She needs to be taken care of."

Steve was unwilling to give her up, not yet. "Can I carry her?" he asked and the nurse relented, asking him to follow on, but reminding him that he'd need to hand her over in a few minutes. 

They walked past the surgery and Steve glanced at the doors that led inside. Hell, it was probably just to another corridor that eventually led to the room they were working on Danny in, but it felt like he was just through that wall and Steve wanted to bust it down and race to the rescue. But he couldn't. He didn't have the know-how and he had to rely on these doctors to make sure his life wasn't going to fall apart.

When they reached their destination, the nurse looked at Steve expectantly. He could only look down at his new daughter again with love in his eyes. Pride and hope. 

"Have you and Danny decided on a name? We can put it on the end of the unit for her."

Steve began to shake his head, but then he looked down at his daughter and he knew. He just knew. He knew Danny would pull through, he knew this little girl was a perfect product of their love for each other and they were going to have the life they wanted. He just knew because he was holding her.

"Yeah, we did," Steve looked up and sniffed. "Hope. She's called Hope. Hope... Meka," he decided, knowing Danny leaned more towards the name Meka than Jenna and as a middle name it just tripped so easily off his tongue. He couldn't help it. He named her.

"Hope Meka. That's really pretty," the nurse said as she took the little wrapped bundle away inside. 

Steve watched through the glass as they went through their routine of taking care of her. He stood for ages and she let him watch, even a little self-consciously, but she knew he needed to be there. She placed Hope in a cot near the window and then made a sign with her name on it and placed it in his sightline. His smile was watery.

"Hope," he said as he pressed a hand to the glass. "Hey, baby. Everything's going to be alright, just you wait and see. You're my Hope, huh? Everything's wrapped up in you, honey. You're the good luck charm your Danno needs."

And he meant every single word. She was the hope he had found while waiting on news of how Danny was doing and he was going to cling onto it like he'd clung to her and Leo. There was just no way Danny could produce something so perfect and not pull through. Just no way. 

He pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures of her lying there. Her first photos to treasure. He couldn't wait to show Danny.


	13. Chapter 13

Danny woke with a pounding head, fuzzy eyes and a brain that couldn't understand what was going on. He didn't try to move; he knew in advance it would be a bad idea and that he didn't have the energy to even bother trying anyway. 

His eyelids fluttered open to the sight of a drab ceiling and his ears began to register the beeps of machinery around him. As he breathed he could tell it wasn't normal… a nasal cannula… he could feel a slight pressure over his cheeks. He was getting help to breathe.

His eyesight became clearer and he flexed his fingers, letting them twitch but he couldn't do much more. There was exhaustion but it was more of being bone-weary than anything else and there was dulled pain masked by powerful painkillers.

He looked around himself - there was no one else there.

He glanced down his body. A frown creased his brow. His stomach was flatter than it had been. 

There had been a baby. A baby inside him, but it wasn't there now.

He had to think. Had to think back… pain. He'd been in pain, he'd been unable to concentrate on anything else except that lancing sharpness that struck through his abdomen and there had been harried movement, talking, so much talking, everyone at once and… they'd tried everything. He remembered them trying, hoping they didn't have to do something even though they were pumping blood and god knows what else into Danny's system to combat… something. 

And a mask over his face and an inability for him to do anything but get a vague sense of what was going on and then a baby. A quiet baby had been there. Worry, he saw worry on the faces and a baby that should have been crying but wasn't.

He looked around himself again in a panic that he couldn't articulate though he heard the beeps of the machine get faster. There was nothing here. There was an empty seat beside him but nothing else. If he'd had a baby then there would be a cot nearby, there would be something to indicate he'd become a father, even if the baby itself wasn't there right now beside him there would be evidence. A cot; there was no cot, there were no toys, there was no… color.

Oh God. Oh _**God**_ , he'd _failed_. He'd lost the baby and now he was in some kind of recovery room and on his own.

Steve, where was Steve? Oh God, could he not face Danny after the loss? Was he away somewhere preparing a funeral for a child that hadn't even had a chance to finish developing inside him?

His baby. His baby was gone and he'd never get to feel her move again, get to feel her inside him or in his arms. He'd never get to meet her, to look into her eyes and see the life that he'd been nurturing for all those months. 

No, _oh God_ , tell him this wasn't happening, that it was all a dream. 

He breathed deeply, too deeply, he choked on the air and began to cough. Tears leaked from his eyes and he lifted from the bed as he tensed, head curling down to his chest as he tried to control the coughs but couldn't. He couldn't breathe right anymore. 

But his baby was gone so if he couldn't breathe maybe he didn't truly care. 

As the nurses and doctors rushed in to help him, he fell back onto the bed and his eyes closed. Darkness followed quickly. 

*

The next time he woke he was groggy. There was movement beside him and he moaned. His memories flooded back to him much quicker this time and he was fully aware of what he'd lost before he even opened his eyes. 

A shadow passed over him and he screwed his eyes even more tightly shut as he began to sob. 

"Danny?" A recognizable voice full of concern asked as warm hands cupped his face. "Danny, can you hear me? Open your eyes, baby."

He shook his head against the hold, hoping that maybe if he kept his eyes closed then reality could be held at bay for precious more moments. He didn't want to face losing his child yet, he just didn't.

"Danny, come on, please," Steve begged of him and the pleading note in that voice was enough for Danny to look at him. He needed to see. Needed to face up to what he'd done. 

"I'm so sorry," he croaked out, surprised at just how bad his voice and throat were. He tried again. "I'm so sorry."

"No, Danny, sweetheart, don't. I'm sorry, okay?" He could see the tears welling up in Steve's eyes as the man bent close, touching his forehead to Danny's for a moment before pulling back enough to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry, but you're fine now. You're going to be okay."

It was typical and he should have expected it; that Steve would shoulder all the blame that could go around. He'd think himself somehow responsible but it had been Danny carrying their child, Danny who had ignored those pains longer than he maybe should have. It was Danny who'd held all that tension and worry in him that had affected his child. To think, he'd spent a life waiting for a worst case scenario but always pulled through even amongst the bad. This was the first time he truly felt like he'd failed and he couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Not yet.

He feebly pushed Steve's hands away from him and turned onto his other side, away from Steve. "Please go away," he asked in quiet voice as he sluggishly moved his limbs, curling up, wrapping his arms around himself. 

"Danny, don't do this, what's wrong?" Steve asked, unsure what was going on or what to do but Danny knew it was for the best right now. 

"I can't," Danny answered.

"Mr. McGarrett, perhaps you can give us a few minutes with Danny. Let us check him over," a new voice entered the room. He knew it, but it wasn't as familiar as his friends and family.

Steve left, Danny could feel it even if he hadn't seen it. There was a warmth that left the room with him, a supporting presence missing, a crutch that was pulled out from under him, but one he didn't feel he deserved to use.

The doctors rounded the bed and got down to Danny's level. He barely listened to them, but he did as they asked when they needed to run tests or measurements or whatever it was they were doing. 

They spoke to him about what had happened and he took in bits and pieces as he stared through them to the wall beyond. Something about blood loss, about a rupture, about his heart being unable to keep up. It sounded like they were saying he had died on the table at some point, but he couldn't be sure going by their language. 

"We're sorry, Danny, but there was no way to save it," they ended and Danny heard that part clearly. They couldn't save the child. _His child_. It wasn't an 'it', it was a child, a girl. "It's difficult to process, we understand that. If there's anything you need…"

Danny curled into himself again.

"We can ask Steve to come back in. Or maybe Grace? Perhaps they can provide some comfort."

"No," Danny ground out, his voice taking on a graveled edge. "No, I don't want to see anyone. Don't let anyone in. Please."

"Danny, you shouldn't-"

"Please," he lifted his head enough to make his voice, words and face speak for him. "I want to be alone for a while," he said adamantly enough that they backed down with nods and took their leave, dimming the lights as they went. 

*

"How's he doing?" Steve asked as he rubbed his hands together anxiously. 

"We've spoken to him about what happened, about his condition now. He's upset."

"What did you tell him?" Steve demanded. 

"I'm sorry, Steve, but even if you are his medical proxy, there are still some things that only the patient should hear. It's up to him to talk to you about anything more." The doctor blocked Steve as he tried to make his way into the room. "He's asked to be left alone for a while. No visitors."

"But I'm-" his husband? Steve's words broke off before he could finish them. They weren't married, he didn't truly know what to call Danny beyond partner, and it had never really come up before now, certainly not in anything but jokes.

"We know, but he was very specific. He doesn't want to see anyone. Give him some time to process this."

"Time? It's been three days!" Steve complained. "He's been unconscious for _three days_. I barely got to see him while you had him in ICU and now that you've moved him to a more comfortable room, he's saying he won't see me? Or his family? He still needs to meet Hope and she's already three days old, she needs her father!"

He wasn't angry, he couldn't be. Danny and Hope had both come through this ordeal amazingly well for what they'd been through and the prognosis for both was good. The last few days had slid by in a whir of him moving around from Danny's bedside, to Hope's incubator, to everyone making sure he ate and slept and…. showered. His brain was frazzled and he just wanted to introduce Danny to his new daughter, _**their**_ new daughter. Somehow, in those last days, he'd come to wish for that moment, knowing it would be the one where he'd finally be able to relax. It was the moment he'd been working towards and it was being put off and put off and it was agony to wait. 

"Once he's feeling stronger, I'm sure the first thing he'll want is to meet Hope. Just be patient," the doctor patted his arm as he walked on by.

Steve shook his head. 'Patient'. He'd _been_ patient. It had been days.

"Why won't he see us?" A young voice asked from Steve's side. 

He looked down at Grace's tired eyes. "I don't know, Gracie. We'll just have to wait a little longer."

She bit her bottom lip and turned away from him exasperated. "He should at least see me, even if he doesn't want to see you. It's not fair. It's your fault he got hurt, not mine."

"Grace, please, now isn't the time," he told her. He's been putting up with her anger and her unforgiving glare for days - anytime they were in proximity. He still had no real problem with it. He was saddened and he had a rolling in his gut because of her words and her attitude but he knew where it was coming from. 

When he was her age, he'd lost his mother and he'd been unable to control his feelings on it. Danny and Hope may be alive but the threat had been real and they'd come perilously close to losing them. It was no wonder Grace's head was still all over the place. Steve's was too.

"I just want to see him, speak to him. I want to know he's okay."

"We all do," Steve put in. "I'm sure he's just trying to protect you. Doesn't want you to see him when he's still hurting."

"I'm older now, it's not like I don't understand what's going on. And it's not like at work when you get him shot at. No one needs to protect me from that kind of stuff. Not anymore."

"You're his little girl and will be no matter what age you are. He'll always try and protect you. I will, too."

"Yeah. Well. This whole thing sucks," she said, sticking to arguing even if all she could do was vaguely curse at the world around her.

"I'm going to go see your sister, do you want to come?" he asked, olive branch out. 

"I just got back from there. I'm going to help Uncle Chin with Fred's lunch," she answered, the only one of the family to staunchly stick to calling Leo by his actual first name. She always had. And though he always responded to Leo from anyone who spoke to him, Grace was different. From Grace he knew who she was talking about when she called him Fred. Or Fred-head as she preferred.

"Homework straight after," he said to her retreating form but she ignored him. 

She used to always look up to him, ask him for advice, for help. She may be a teenager, but she'd so rarely acted out or ignored his authority, but these last few days she seemed to be going out of her way to go against whatever he said. Or to just do her own thing, when she wanted to.

She was still Grace, still knew the meaning of responsibility, of family, of helping out. She'd really stepped up to help Steve with Leo, and he'd watched her spend time by Hope's incubator reading to her, even if she hadn't realized he'd been there to see it. 

It was just him that she had a problem with and he had no idea how to bridge that gap. He could only hope that Danny would be able to help fix things once he was up and around more. And talking to them. 

He just wanted to skip to the part where they were all happy and healthy again.


	14. Chapter 14

Steve didn't know how much time he'd spent by Hope's side after being sent away by Danny's doctors. He needed to be connected to his family as much as possible and flitting around between them was growing weary. And it just wasn't enough. He wanted to be with his _**whole**_ family, all in the same room, taking care of of his kids, of Grace, of Danny… and them taking care of him in return. 

Kono was the one to drag him away this time, demanding that he take time to eat. 

"He's probably confused," she said as she picked at the fries on the plate that he wasn't eating. 

Though at least he'd eaten the burger she'd put in front of him, so couldn't complain about him ignoring himself entirely. 

"He was out of it for three days," she continued. "He's probably barely aware of where the hell he even is. Once he's had a little time to work things out, I'm convinced he'll be beating down the door of the NICU to see Hope and you and he can do… whatever it is you do. The stuff that Grace texts me about, usually accompanied by words such as 'ew' or 'gross'."

She smiled at him and winked and he couldn't help but return it, even if it was lackluster. "Maybe, I dunno," he said, pushing his plate away. "It's just… something doesn't feel right."

"I get that. I mean… this part of the clinic is just a hospital wing, really. Nothing ever really feels right when one of the team's in hospital. On top of that, you and Danny always did get a bit crazy when the other was hurt. I've watched both of you trying to hide tears on far too many occasions."

"No, it's… Danny knew how I felt about what happened with Leo. How I missed out - and I completely understand why that happened. I don't hold any grudge about it, but it still hurts to know that I didn't get that chance. But we've talked about this, about how we would do right by Hope and both be there one hundred percent from the beginning. And there he is, lying in a bed down the corridor and not wanting to see her, or anyone? Grace, Leo… he's hidden himself away and it's not like him. Not when we should be celebrating that we've made it this far."

"Why don't you ask him?"

"He's not letting anyone in to see him."

"Like they locked the door? Come on, Steve. Since when did you leave Danny alone to deal with stuff - ever? Go knock on the door. If he's still being quiet then barge in." She shrugged. "You wouldn't be you if you didn't give it a shot."

"You know, you're right." Steve straightened his back, resolve coming into his mind where he'd been coasting by before. "Grace is upset that he won't see her, Leo's been crying out to be near him and Hope needs his love as much as mine right now. Whatever has upset him needs to be put aside so that he can be with his family."

"Right on, boss," Kono leaned back in her seat. "Go," she gestured. 

He thanked her off-handedly and pushed his chair back with a scrape across the floor. He stormed down the corridors with purpose until he reached Danny's room. He knocked, barely having stopping in front of the door. There was no response, so he pushed it open anyway. "Danny, I know you don't- Danny?"

There was no sign. The bed was empty, sheets mussed in a pile at the bottom where they'd been thrown off. Monitors were unattached but looked like they could be put back into place easily. Maybe he'd gone to the bathroom?

Steve headed around and ducked his head through the adjoining door. "Danny?" he asked, but there was no sign of him in the shower or anywhere. 

He put his hands on his hips. For a man who didn't want to see anyone, where the hell would he go? He wouldn't have run off… would he? Try to escape the clinic?

But why? What could have happened, what could anyone have done that could have prompted him to try leaving? No, he must be around somewhere…

He paced out of the room, checking the corridor in both directions, then he stopped, calmed himself and thought about it seriously. Considering everything he knew… there was only one place Danny would go. It was like Kono said. It had to be. Once Danny had his head screwed on right, he'd make a beeline for it. 

Steve took off at a jog, rounding the corners and pulling up short at the sight of Danny standing close to the window of the Neonatal ICU, a drip on a wheeled pole hanging above his head and attached into his hand.

"Danny?" he took small, slow steps towards him. Danny barely registered him being there, didn't turn to him, but he twitched, fully aware Steve was coming up beside him. 

"I just wanted to see the place, I didn't expect... I mean, I thought I was the only pregnant guy they had around here at the moment," Danny said.

"You are."

"Then where did she come from?" Danny asked, head tilting to indicate where Hope was lying. 

Steve paused for a moment, looking between Danny and Hope, confused. "From _you_ , Danny. Are you okay? You should sit down. I can bring her to you." He turned his head in every direction, trying to find some kind of seat to use. 

"What?" Danny asked, looking like thoughts were clouding his mind, making it murky and slow still. "No, wait. What are you talking about?"

"What do you mean what am I talking about? You gave birth, Danny. That's our daughter. I know things have been tough, but you remember that much, right?" He came closer, placing a hand on Danny's arm supportively.

"But they couldn't save her. Am I dreaming this?" Danny said, a lost look in his eyes and Steve knew instantly what was wrong, why Danny had been shutting them all out and he took a sharp breath. 

"Danny, no. No, no, no, oh God, _no_. She's fine. She's perfectly fine. Well, she's got to be looked after a while longer since she was born early, but she's going to be just fine."

"She's not dead?" Danny asked, eyes shining but refusing to spill.

"No, not at all. Why would you-? It doesn't matter," Steve shook off, not wanting to dwell on it. 

"I could use that seat now," Danny said, a hand behind him, flailing in the air, looking for a surface to properly lean on. Steve scuttled away, coming back with a chair from one of the empty rooms that was open and helped Danny to sit in it before crouching in front of him, taking his hands, mindful of the needle poking into the left one. 

Steve moved his head around until he could catch Danny's eye. "I named her. I know it's not one that we had on the list but when I was asked, I just couldn't help myself, it fit so perfectly. She's called Hope. That's exactly what she is to me. She's alive, and you're going to pull through and be back to normal in no time and all because I had that hope, you know? The moment I saw her I knew everything would be fine. I can go get her, you can meet her," he was excited. It was time for Danny to see her and he began to stand when Danny held him back. 

"No, wait. Let me… process first. Just a few minutes."

"Okay, no problem. It's okay," Steve got back down low in front of Danny again. "How about a doctor, do you need to see one? Maybe you should."

"Just shut up, let me think."

"Okay, shutting up," Steve agreed and pulled Danny's hands up so that he could kiss the backs of them. Didn't the doctors tell Danny everything was okay? They'd gone in there after he'd woken that morning to talk to him about what had happened and somehow Danny had got the impression from it that Hope had died? 

He was angry as all hell. How could that even happen?

*

There was angry yelling. Or, well, Steve's version of angry yelling, which Danny knew was more dangerous because it was actually quieter than you'd expect. It was never a good sign when Steve's voice pitched low, his eyes looked like they would shoot fireballs any minute and his muscles flexed like he was itching to land a punch somewhere.

Danny wasn't entirely privy to it. As he sat in front of the window blocking him from his new daughter, he was listening in pieces to what was being said further down the corridor, the voices echoing in the hallway and talking too hurriedly or too low at times for him to truly know what was being said. 

He was also aware of the glances being shot his way, but he purposely kept his eyes straight ahead and focused on the incubator he could see on the other side. 

That was his daughter. That was the little thing he'd been carrying for eight months.

Things felt different this time. 

Leo's birth had been textbook. He'd been able to participate more in the process, he'd been able to see him and hold him from the moment he was able and he'd never felt any connection to his little boy lost purely at him coming out of his body. Meeting him properly had flushed Danny with joy, as it had when he'd been there for Grace's birth. 

This was different. He'd been mourning her, he'd thought her dead, even if only for a few scant hours. He'd been trying to reconcile the thoughts in his head about how he'd cope and yet here she was. It was like a second coming but at the same time, he struggled to wrap his head around the thought that she was there, that he had a daughter.

He frowned, not liking the feelings inside the pit of his stomach. Becoming a father again… it wasn't supposed to feel like this. Whatever 'this' was.

"Danny?" the doctor roused him from his thoughts and once he acknowledged the man's presence, he crouched to be closer to his eye level. "We're so sorry, Danny. We had no idea you'd got the wrong end of the stick on all of this."

"I made some assumptions, I should have asked," Danny said with a shrug, trying to help the doctor out, maybe help the man recover from the lashing he'd just received from Steve… to play the good cop in a way that was ingrained in him after so many years of being Steve's partner, but his heart wasn't in it. He didn't feel anger for what had happened, he was too worn out to be emotional. In fact, he realized, he didn't feel very emotional at all regardless, in any direction.

"I'm truly, _truly_ sorry. I think we need to have a proper talk; go over everything again now that you're more aware." He waited on Danny's go ahead. 

"Sure."

"Do you remember what else we told you about the birth?"

"Just that things went wrong. Something to do with the placenta?"

"Yes, there was an abruption. It caused you to hemorrhage and that in turn led to the bleeding moving into the abdominal cavity. We had no choice but to do an immediate cesarean section to safely birth your daughter. It was the best chance you both had of survival."

"But I was positive you'd said you couldn't save her. It. Her," Danny shook his head of the cobwebs.

"Oh," the doctor raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I see. This is where the confusion has set in. We should have made things more clear, checked more that you'd understood. Danny," he took a moment, making sure to center himself, steel himself before continuing. "The bleeding was difficult to control. We had to remove… we had to do an emergency hysterectomy and take out your uterus. It means you won't be able to have any more children. I know you and Steve were considering it. That's what we meant by being unable to save something. It was done purely as a last resort to save your life."

Danny looked over the doctor's shoulder and down the corridor where Steve's dark and imposing form was pacing, his head turned to watch but he was staying away as if he'd been told that this was a private conversation, though it was one he clearly wanted to be a part of. 

Danny could see why the doctors wanted to tell Danny this news on his own first of all. It felt like a private thing and he was glad that no one else knew and would take pity on him, show sympathy. And he certainly didn't need Steve to be thinking like that right now. 

He didn't know what to think about it for himself, but he felt crestfallen. As much as he'd really not wanted to add anymore kids to the family, feeling that three was enough, he knew Steve was wanting more. Steve would have a whole flock if he could in some crazed way of compensating for his own shitty childhood after his mother's death. He had no idea how he'd tell him, tell _anyone_ … but he didn't need to worry about that at the moment. He had other things to think about.

"Okay," Danny finally said, breathing in sharply and bringing himself back to the moment, realizing he hadn't said anything back to the doctor. "So I can't have any other kids. Makes sex less of a worry, I guess," he tried to make light of the situation, though the doctor was still looking too guilty to contemplate cracking a smile. 

"Over the last few days we've been monitoring your organ function. Kidneys, liver… we had to be sure they weren't affected. And your heart also caused us concern."

"I remember what you said about all that," Danny shook his head, not needing to go into that kind of thing again. There was a point where he just needed to know that there wouldn't be long term damage. Knowing he'd been badly off was far enough, details became irrelevant in the grand scheme of survival. "It's okay, I'm fine. I just need to adjust a little to, well, to her not being dead." He looked over at Steve again who was now biting his knuckle while holding himself up against the wall. "I think I need to make sure Steve is okay."

"I'll send him over. If you need to talk about anything, or have even the _slightest_ confusion about what happened or might happen then please talk to us," he said before standing. 

Steve was back over in a shot as soon as the doctor took his leave. He was down in front of Danny, hands out to touch him but they barely skimmed the surface of his skin as they checked him over, making sure he was okay. Which was dumb. Of course he wasn't okay. His body had been through the wringer, his stomach was all stitched up and tender, his head was murky and he felt like he was swimming in a mire. And he had this damn drip attached to him. All that and he'd thought his baby dead when he'd woken so no, he wasn't okay.

"You okay?" Steve asked. 

"Yeah," Danny replied, knowing Steve could tell he was lying.

"I swear to God we are suing. Or doing something, I don't know. I'll dig into them, find a law they've broken somewhere. Fuck it, I'll get them on unpaid parking tickets, or jay walking, I don't care." He cupped Danny's face and pressed a kiss to his lips, then another to the tip of his nose. "They won't tell me what it is that happened, how you got to thinking Hope was dead."

"We worked it out. It was my fault, I wasn't listening to them properly."

"They should have checked. Should have known better than to drop information on you right after you woke up."

"It started before then. I thought I'd lost her and wasn't prepared to be told otherwise. I thought that was why you were upset, when you were telling me everything would be okay, I figured you meant that we'd get through it, but…" he reminded him, watching Steve's face for a reaction and he got one. 

Steve's head fell, dropping onto Danny's thigh. He placed a hand in Steve's hair, letting the strands nudge between his fingers. It had been a monumental fuck up of wrong word choices and misunderstandings. It wouldn't have been a problem if they'd been discussing something innocuous, but it had been about a _baby's life_.

When Steve's head rose again his eyes were puffy. "I'm so sorry you went through this. I should have done something sooner."

"I wouldn't have listened," Danny ran his hand down Steve's face, thumb wiping under his eye to catch a threatening tear. He took on the responsibility of the whole thing whether it was his to shoulder or not. He should have listened better, should have stopped himself from assuming the worst. "But I'd rather just forget about it, okay? Just move on. I know you're pissed but these doctors have been looking after us for months and they saved her life and mine and I don't think we should forget about that."

Steve took a moment and just stared at Danny. "Since when did you become a voice of reason?"

"I've always been one," Danny answered. "That's why you no longer put perps in shark cages or hang them off roofs."

"That's why-" Steve began, a smile ghosting over his lips but they both turned their heads at the sound of a baby crying. The sound of the only baby in the other room crying. Their baby. "We should see to her. You should hold her, I'm sure it'll help both of you."

"You go ahead, I'll catch up," Danny started and Steve was going to protest, telling him he'd help Danny but he cut him off. "No, she needs something. I'll be right behind you, don't worry," he assured him and Steve kissed his forehead before getting to his feet and heading into the ward, letting the nurse know he was on the case. 

Danny watched from where he was now standing and began to shuffle round and through the door, dragging his drip stand beside him. 

His daughter, Hope - a name he wouldn't have chosen but he wasn't averse to - was settling more in Steve's arms, but she was still fidgeting like crazy, little arms and legs moving and kicking and her face was still contorted in unhappiness. She wasn't crying though, which meant Steve was able to bring her some comfort. Steve bounced Hope in his arms and looked up at Danny with some kind of bliss, taking to fatherhood with her as well as he had with Leo. 

He walked over, baby snug in his arms. "Now Hope gets to meet her Danno properly," he said and then shifted her weight, intending to give her over to Danny who took a step back and put his hands up. 

"You keep hold of her," he said. 

Steve gave him a puzzled look. "She wants to be near you. Unless she's sleeping she just doesn't settle right. She knows my voice but she knows you better."

"But I don't want to drop her," Danny argued, searching for the best excuse possible, one that was genuine. "I'm still weak, I'm all attached here," he waved his left hand. "It's best for her if you keep hold for now."

"Okay," Steve answered, not wholly believing in Danny's reasoning but going with it. "Okay, but you can still say hi." He lifted her further in his arms and turned sideways so that Danny could get as close as possible over Steve's elbow.

He looked at her, pretty much upside down at the angle he was at and saw how much she seemed to take after Steve, at least in the looks department. That was definitely his eyes and his chin. And the darker hair color. He ran a single finger over her head and followed it with an anointing kiss. 

"Hi, honey," he said to her quietly. "You're going to be just fine, I know it. Both of us are."

He sniffed and pulled his head back. 

"Uh, Steve, you might want to take care of that diaper. It's probably why she was getting upset."

Steve lifted her bottom higher up and wrinkled his nose. "Right. On it. Don't go anywhere."

As Steve disappeared with Hope and asked the nurse for a fresh diaper, Danny shuffled to the door of the unit. Something still felt weird inside him. Like he was missing part of his connection to the baby he'd given birth to. He couldn't explain it. His only thought was that she'd been born three days ago and in that time she'd not been near him and had only known Steve. He felt like he was playing catch up. 

Was this how Steve had felt with Leo? And it had been six months for him at the time. And yet, Steve had been excited. He'd been determined and he hadn't questioned anything Danny had told him.

But Danny had looked at Hope, had remembered the fact that he'd begun to mourn her and questioned if she was really there, really alive… if she was really his. 

He felt an emptiness inside that he couldn't explain, and it wasn't from her being no longer there inside or from his now missing uterus… it was something else. 

Before he knew it, he'd walked himself back to his room. He padded inside, reached the bed and climbed on, vaguely mindful of the line of the drip as he lay on his side, hand low on his belly, fingers following the trail of his bumpy and swollen scarring.


	15. Chapter 15

"There you are. I thought I told you to… stay put... Danny?" Steve's pleasant voice slowly slipped into worry as he came closer. 

Danny hurriedly pulled his t-shirt down again and wiped at blurry eyes. He hadn't realized he'd been crying, but tears had certainly escaped; the back of his hand feeling clammy and wet from them. "It's nothing, I'm fine, I dunno."

"Talk to me, what can I do?" Steve came around the bed to face Danny and took his hand, holding tight with both of his own then releasing one to slip fingers through Danny's messy hair. 

"I feel ridiculous. Hormonal maybe?" Danny said as he finished wiping his eyes but stayed lying on his side, legs curling up and free hand still tightly pressed to where he'd had his surgery. "Which is weird since I already had the baby, I think it's supposed to stop now and go back to normal."

Steve's eyes followed Danny's hand. "Can I look?" he asked.

"It's gross."

"No, it's not. It's fine," Steve assured him as he prised Danny's fingers from around his t-shirt and then rucked it slowly up. The scarring was low, he had to lift the hem of Danny's sweats and push them down to get a decent look. The sutures had only come out the day before - something Danny vaguely remembered the doctors saying about it - and the skin was puffy, swollen, pinkish red. Steve didn't seem to care as he ducked his head closer and laid a small kiss just below the line of the cut.

Danny remembered his c-section scarring from before had faded until it was all but hidden beneath body hair, and he knew that would happen again. But this time it felt more like his child had been ripped from him rather than coming to full term and wanting to be let out. He cursed inwardly at his body, at the situation.

"If there's a God," he said, voice quiet but full of emotion. "Why did he make it so difficult for men to give birth? Why make us go through this?"

Steve lifted his head back up and his hand resumed it's soothing motion through Danny's hair. "You had an abruption. From what I can tell, the same thing happens to women. Most of the problems with male pregnancies are the same as women's. Just, admittedly, more common. But that doesn't have to mean anything. Look at you, Danny. You had Leo and you've had Hope and all three of you are coming out of this okay. Like I knew you would. What did I tell you about being the man who didn't need to think about the odds, huh? You defy them."

Danny just shook his head, not wanting to hear Steve's optimism as it felt empty, felt placating as opposed to meaningful and true. "No," he murmured low and turned away, looking back up at the ceiling. 

There was the sound of Steve moving around and then the dip of the bed as Steve climbed on with him, getting close, maneuvering them into a spooning position but with Danny still looking to the ceiling tiles, lying more on Steve's chest than the bed. 

"Talk to me," Steve said, hand skirting up and down Danny's arm. "I can help. Let me try."

"You missed six months of Leo's life but when you met him you just… you took the opportunity and ran with it. You became his father in an instant and he knew, too. I know you missed out but it was like it didn't matter anymore. You never even asked for proof you just believed it and fell in love with your boy."

"I thought we were past this. As much as I hate that I missed out, I don't resent you. I know how tough it was for you to go through what you did."

"We are past it," Danny shook his head and then let it fall back onto Steve's shoulder. "I missed three days of Hope's life. And only because I was pretty much unconscious the whole time. Now I feel like something's wrong. I don't know. I can't explain it."

"I read about stuff before in those baby books. It's natural for you to feel a bit all over the place after giving birth and your body goes back to normal."

"It's not the same as with Leo. I dunno," Danny sighed and wiped a hand over his face. "I feel like… I mean, why am I not there right now. Why did I come back here? She's my baby. I should be… I should want to be by her side the whole time. I was with Leo when he was born. I mean, there were no complications, he was full term, he didn't need the incubator or anything but that shouldn't mean anything. I just feel… disconnected."

"With Hope? Or with everything?" Steve asked. 

Danny had to seriously contemplate that. Since he'd woken that morning from his days of recovery and in-and-out-of-consciousness state, he hadn't seen Grace or Leo or anyone else. Just Steve and Hope. So maybe it wasn't just his new daughter…

"I'm not even sure."

"Like I said, it's just a side effect of everything that's happened. Don't let it worry you," he kissed Danny's head and then shuffled around so that he was leaning on his arm and looking down at Danny. "I tell you what. I'll see if I can go get Hope and bring her on a field trip to see you. How does that sound?"

"Okay," Danny agreed on a nod and Steve excitedly got back out of the bed, making sure he didn't jar Danny too much in the process and then bounding off. Danny didn't want to disappoint him and he wanted to feel exuberant and connected when he was with his new daughter and he centered himself, telling himself it would happen because you could make yourself happy or calm just by telling yourself so. At least, that's what those courses he'd taken on 'interacting with the public' had taught him. 

Not long after Steve left there was a quiet knock on the door and then a familiar head carefully popped through. "Danno?"

"Hey, monkey," Danny smiled and tried his best to sit up more.

"Is it okay if we come see you now?" she asked, eyes wide and hopeful while also filled with worry and it almost broke Danny's heart for her to think he didn't want to see her and he had to rectify that immediately, even if his mind and body wasn't fully up to visitors.

"Of course, come in here," he said, straightening his clothing as he lay.

When she pushed the door open it seemed she had Leo held in her other arm and the minute the toddler saw his father he squealed and clapped his hands together, chanting Danny's name and reaching for him, squirming in Grace's hold despite her trying to keep him still.

"He's been desperate to see you for days," she said as she put Leo onto the bed and tried to hold him steady as he crawled over Danny. 

He winced as a little hand dug too much into his side close to his scarring. He wanted to press his own one there, to check it was okay but he was trying to keep his hands out of the way to avoid Leo getting caught in the line from the IV. "Careful, buddy, careful. I know you want to see me but you need to be careful. Danno's sensitive right now."

Grace lifted herself to sit on the edge of the bed about halfway down and leaned over Danny to give him a hug, being as gentle as she could be before sitting up again and helping Danny control Leo who just wanted to burrow into Danny's side. Grace held his little feet so he couldn't kick Danny's scarring. 

"Are you okay now?" She asked. 

Danny considering it quickly but smiled. "Now that you're both here, of course I am. Can't get better than that."

"What about Hope?"

"What about her?"

"She's not here right now. Wouldn't it be better if she was?"

"Uncle Steve has gone to get her, he shouldn't be long."

Grace picked at the mess of covers laying haphazardly near the bottom of the bed and didn't make eye contact. "Why didn't you want to see us before?"

Danny cuddled Leo closer as he began to settle and just look around them, comfortable now he'd been able to see his Danno. "I still wasn't completely well. You know I don't like you guys seeing me like that. I just needed a little longer, that's all."

She bit her bottom lip, not believing him because she was too smart for her own good, but she was going to let it lie. "And Uncle Steve? You wouldn't see him either."

"I just wasn't ready," he said, unable to come up with a decent answer that didn't worry her about how he'd thought Hope was dead. 

"Did you forgive him now?"

"For what, sweetie?"

Grace just shrugged and didn't answer. Danny bit his bottom lip, realizing that he was mirroring his own daughter's actions, or she was taking after him. Or something. But the point was, he knew she wasn't telling him everything… and he was going to let it slide. For now.

"She's pretty cool, you know." Grace changed the subject. "I mean, she's tiny. I remember Leo being bigger, so I guess they grow a lot in the last few weeks. I was reading to her sometimes, bonding with her, you know? Uncle Steve's baby books talked about stuff like that. I'm not sure that Shakespeare was entirely the best thing to be reading to her because there were fights and stuff, but I needed to get through the first act for class so… yeah."

"I'm sure she loved it. How's Leo been?"

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Uncle Chin and I have done our best but he kept wanting to see you and crying sometimes because of it. Uncle Steve spent most of his time sitting outside here or by Hope."

"I'm sure he knew you and Chin were taking good care of him," he hugged Leo closer. "Sometimes when Steve gets worried he gets single minded and forgets about other people around him. You know that. You've seen it before. You know, when you were younger, you were the thing he worried about and dropped things for. He let Chin and Kono deal with Five-0 cases to make sure you were okay when I wasn't able to."

"I know, but it's annoying the other way around; being the thing he forgets about while he concentrates on something else, even if it was you and the baby."

She shrugged again in teenage petulance; not wanting to admit she was wrong or that things were more complicated than black and white. He could tell there was something going on. He could sense it. She wasn't happy and Steve was where her anger seemed to be focused. She hadn't said much but he knew how to read his girl's emotions and he didn't think it was something as simple as jealousy over the new baby in their lives. 

He'd fix it later. He was tired out already; his body not quite ready for a lot of anything physically and he was emotionally wrung out from the yo-yoing his mind had done that day so far. 

But when he laid his head back on the pillow he felt okay. He felt a wave of normalcy at dealing with whatever was bugging Grace and having Leo sticking so close to him. Maybe he was panicking over nothing at his lack of emotions over meeting Hope. Maybe he'd just been overwhelmed. It could have just been the shock at finding out she was there and not in a box waiting for him to say goodbye.

He was shaken from any maudlin thoughts by more arrivals into the room. 

"Hey, look, Hope. Everybody's here," Steve said in a higher pitch than normal as he cradled Hope close to his chest and walked into the room with the biggest smile on his face. He walked around the bed to Danny's free side. "They said it should be okay for a little while. She's doing really good, Danny."

"Has Leo seen her before?" Danny asked of Grace and Steve.

"Just through the windows," Grace answered for them. 

"Why don't you hold him, Danny? Then he can get a closer look," Steve coaxed him and Danny gave in.

He was nervous. Nervous about holding his own baby. He was still in some odd state of disbelief and just going with the flow and wasn't sure what was going on. But having spent a little time with Grace and Leo, he was beginning to get that feeling he'd expected for once Hope had been born and their lives would pick up but with one extra child in the family. 

Steve carefully moved the wrapped bundle into Danny's arms and he brought her close, lifting her a little higher to see her more clearly, to make that eye contact. She fidgeted in his arms. "Hey, Bean," he said to her, forgetting for just that small moment that she had an actual name now. 

"I thought you hated calling her that?" Steve smiled. 

"I dunno, guess it stuck after all."

"It's not that you hate the name I gave her, right?" Steve hedged.

"No," Danny reassured him. "No, babe it's okay. You told me why and that's fine. I don't hate it. I wouldn't have thought of it myself but hey, I named Grace and Leo so it's only fair, right?"

Steve's hand moved to massage the back of Danny's neck in lieu of an answer. Leo stood on the bed next to Danny and put his hand out to touch over Hope's tummy. "Bee," he said. 

"That's right, Leo, this is bean. You remember when she was in my tummy? Now she's here," he said, and found himself marveling at his own words. This was his baby, this was the one who had been inside him and was now born. A part of him had resisted believing this was his actual baby, thinking it impossible that she was here, thinking there had been a swap or that, hell, that Steve had stolen her from someone else and was passing her off as their own, but she was here and she looked like Steve so she couldn't be anyone else's.

Hope's eyes couldn't open fully, but they did enough to see Danny, to know his voice and she calmed in his arms, comfortably lying there.

"You've got the magic touch, Danno," Steve said. "She always kicks about when I hold her."

"That's because she knows I'm the sensible one," Danny said, eyes watering again but just a little, and with happiness. 

"And here I was thinking it was because she's used to kicking against me from when she was inside you," Steve laughed. 

Danny raised an eyebrow that Steve couldn't see but Grace did and a smile cracked at the corner of her lips at the familiar family arguments. 

Hope stirred a bit, and Danny bounced her to keep her calm. "You know, I remember when you two were just born," he said, talking to Grace and Leo, both of whom were intent on Danny and Hope. "Well, except I saw both of you when you just came out and were covered in all kinds of goopy stuff," he wrinkled his nose and bent his head closer to Leo, making him laugh, while Grace just made an over the top shudder and mouthed 'gross'.

"Well, I saw her when she was still a little bit goopy. They'd cleaned her up but only quickly when I met her," Steve rubbed Danny's shoulder.

"I told you she was tiny," Grace said and Leo just nodded and said 'bee' and 'bean' a few more times. 

"She is. I hope she didn't get that gene from me," he replied and she laughed. 

"I dodged a bullet on that one," she said back, having loved the fact that she'd been steadily gaining on her father's height and hadn't stopped yet. 

Danny looked back down at Hope, her eyes focused on him intently with a soft look in them but then closed as she began to drift off to sleep. "I wish I hadn't missed the last few days," he said, realizing belatedly that he'd said it out loud. He looked at Steve more. "Seeing Grace and Leo when they'd just been born… I was always able to say I knew my kids from that exact moment they came into the world."

"You're sad about that?" Grace asked, pulling his attention. "Is that why you were upset?"

"You don't miss a thing, do you, monkey."

She scooted closer. "You know, just because you didn't see her the moment she arrived and breathed air or whatever doesn't mean you know her any less, Danno. I mean… really, you'll know her for longer that you've known me and Leo. Think about it. She's been born early, right? We're still at the minus point."

Danny looked up at Steve. 

"She's got a point, you know," Steve said, agreeing with Grace. 

"When we were Hope's age," Grace gestured between herself and Leo. "I was still in mom and Fred-head was still inside you."

Danny narrowed his eyes and pointed at Grace. "You have always known how to make me feel better. About anything. How do you do that, huh?"

"It's a gift," she smiled at him in a way that lit up the entire room and he felt a peace settle on him again. He turned to Leo who hugged his arm and made a happy noise. He had his new baby in his arms and Steve supporting him from the side and he felt good. And it felt good to feel good about things again. A happy family.

But he could still see some tension and he wanted to fix it even if he was tired and really knew he should put it off until later. Maybe he was a glutton for punishment. 

He waved his freer hand between Grace and Steve. "So, is one of you going to tell me what's been going on between the two of you?"


	16. Chapter 16

Steve and Grace were a wall of awkward silence and Danny was too tired to pull the truth out of them. Instead he'd had to admit a temporary defeat and hand Hope back over to Steve so that she could be returned to the NICU. He didn't entirely want to. He felt a need to keep bonding with her, to have her close, but he was very much aware that she needed to spend the time cared for there, for at least a little longer. 

He snuggled down, pillow arranged comfortably around him, Leo tucked into his side with fingers wrapped in his t-shirt and eyes drooping.

Grace sat cross-legged nearer the bottom, leaning over Danny's legs and bracing her arm on the other side. 

"Do you need anything, Danno?"

"No, monkey, I'm good, thank you. I'm still recovering so I get tired out easily. I'll be back to normal in a few days." He watched as she nodded, but looked like she wanted to talk. "You want to tell me what's bothering you?"

She shrugged, looking around herself and then the dam broke. "It's Uncle Steve."

"You and he had a fight." 

"Yes. Well, no. I don't know it's just. I've never felt so mad at him before. Aren't you mad?"

"About what?"

"About everything. It's his fault you're here right now."

Danny frowned. "In a hospital bed? Sweetie, these things happen in pregnancies."

"No," She interrupted and shook her head. "I mean. You almost died. We almost lost you. I'm not saying it's not cool to have Hope around and have a little sister but…"

"You were worried," he finished for her and she nodded. "And you took it out on him."

With Leo taking up space under one arm, he lifted the other and beckoned her closer. 

"Come here," he said and waited until she was hugging into his side before continuing.

"Please don't have any more. I don't want you to die," she sniffed and tightened her hold around him while he stroked her hair. 

"I'm not going anywhere," he kissed the top of her head. "It's not Steve's fault, Grace. It takes two to tango."

"Yeah, but he was stressing you out over work stuff. The doctors said stress was part of the early labor. And Uncle Steve was the one who got you pregnant and male ones are hard. We learned all about it in school. So if he knows that why did he push for it? He always was so…"

"Confident?"

"A little. I guess. I mean, I felt like he didn't care… like, not that he 'didn't care', didn't care. But that… it was just a thing, just an easy thing. He should have been more concerned."

"He cared, sweetie. Trust me, he cared. Anytime something looked like it wasn't right the first person I saw was Steve and the first thing he asked was what he could do to make things better. He loves his whole family, he doesn't want anything bad happening to us. Remember, when Steve was your age, his mom died. Or at least, he was made to believe that she had. The last thing he wants is for any of his kids to go through what he did."

She was strangely quiet, burrowed close to his side, like she was thinking things over. 

He prodded her shoulder. "One of the things he does best, is make sure I can come home to you. He does it all the time. He's made those promises to you and he's always kept them."

"I guess," she agreed, thinking back over the times he really had. "But when you're in hospital, you always blame him."

"I do, that I do," Danny agreed on a sigh and shifted his legs. "I also blame him for the perpetual 80 degree heat and sunshine on this rock. I blame him for the Jets having a miserable season. I blame him for a lot of things, doesn't mean it's really his fault. Or that I really mean it."

She leaned up and narrowed her eyes. "What about when Fred threw up all over your favorite t-shirt with the bullet hole in the arm?"

He pointed his finger. "That, my dear, was entirely his fault. He'd been spinning the kid and throwing him around. I was justified. It took three washes to get the smell of puke out of that thing."

She laughed as she lay down with him again, their motions jostling Leo but he stayed sleeping. She sighed on a frown. "I should apologize to him, right?"

"Talk to him. He'll understand. He probably already knows."

*

When Steve returned it was to find his family all snug together on Danny's bed. It made him stop in his tracks and smile, almost wondering if he was intruding on something. Danny looked up at him, beckoning him to come in, but he didn't get far. Grace untangled herself and jumped down from the bed. She went straight to Steve, grabbed his hand and led him back out of the room. 

Steve was able to glance over his shoulder at Danny, whose face gave nothing away. Neither did Grace's.

Eventually she stopped further along the corridor and took a seat, hand still in Steve's. He wasn't sure what was going on but he sat next to her and let her take the lead. 

She was quiet for a while and he broke the silence. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Danno said we should talk."

"About what?"

"About why I've been mad at you," she answered, looking up at him. 

"I think you made it pretty clear," he told her. He was perfectly aware that she blamed him for Danny being hurt and suffering through the end of his pregnancy and he never had a problem with it. Not only because he was a willing punching bag, knowing she needed to cope with her own worry somehow, but because he joined her in that blame. 

"How come you stayed so calm?"

"Part of my training is to put my own feelings aside and concentrate on how to fix situations. Danny and Hope being in trouble like that, it wasn't something I could fix and I struggled for a little bit. I tried not to let it show. Maybe I came off a bit… cold." He remembered those first few hours when they rushed Danny away. Chin and Kono had only shown up because Grace had been the one to tell them what was going on. She'd kept Leo company when he'd just shut down for a little bit. No wonder she had been so pissed off at him at the time.

"You remember that magazine article when everyone thought Danno was pregnant and he wasn't?" she asked, somewhat changing the subject. "After that it was like your mind was made up that you wanted more kids. Danno noticed, too, I know he did. He spoke to Grandma about it on Skype. Then Danno _was_ pregnant and he got angry at you about it and we were there waiting on news and all I could think about was that."

"You think I forced Danno to have another baby?" he asked, a little taken aback. Grace had always been supportive of everything.

"No, I know how stuff works," she blushed, and he felt his own cheeks heat up. Talking about sex with a fifteen year old was one thing, knowing they were alluding to what he did with her father was another. "But didn't you see this coming? Male pregnancies are difficult, they don't always end well. Why would you do that? Why would you want Danno to have another?"

"Hope was… an accident," he explained. "I love her so much but she wasn't planned for just like Leo wasn't either. But once we knew Danno was expecting again it was one of the best things he could ever do for me. For us. I guess I always had that… feeling. That… hope," he shrugged. "I believe in your dad. He's my hero. And you may not have noticed so much along the way, but everything I did from then on was with his best interests at heart. Not everything goes to plan, especially in our line of work, but I did my best. I promise."

She gave him a tentative smile, reassured. She made a face. "Do you want more?"

"More kids?" he asked and she nodded. "That's a very difficult question. If you were to tell me right now that Danno and I could have another and he or she would be born healthy and Danno would be okay with no complications then yes, in a heartbeat, I'd have more. But life doesn't work like that. There's no guarantees. And we have to consider Danno in all this. I wouldn't want to have kids with anyone else."

"That's how it should be. You love him."

"I love all of you," he kissed her head. 

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," she said.

*

"Where's Grace?" Danny asked as Steve came back into the room. 

"Homework. Finally."

"Finally?"

"I thought she was purposely not doing it because I kept telling her to. Turns out she just couldn't concentrate on it because of everything. She's feeling better now that everything's on the up," Steve explained as he came around the bed. He took in Leo's peaceful features as he lay sleeping with his head in Danny's lap. "Gonna let me get in on some of this action?"

"Why not?" Danny said. "Seems everyone else has been on this bed with me."

Steve climbed on, only just fitting as he crossed his legs low and lay on his side pressed up tightly against Danny. His hand went to Leo's head and slowly ran fingers through his boy's blond hair. 

"What did you say to her?" Steve asked. 

Danny took a breath in. "Nothing major. Just pointed out that you're not to blame for everything, even though it feels like that sometimes," he smiled, and kissed Steve's cheek since it was the closest thing to his lips at that moment. "She was scared and lashed out. It's something she gets from me. Give us a little time to think and we tend to realize it was impulsive."

"She's a teenager," Steve acknowledged. "I guess we've all been lucky so far that she's not had more tantrums or whatnot. And to think, that's something we've got to get at least another two kids through."

"At least?" Danny asked, curiously.

Steve just smiled and shook his head. "Just something Grace and I talked about."


	17. Chapter 17

After two weeks in the NICU, they were allowed to stay together as a family in the Clinic room Danny had been living in for the past two months. 

They could barely let go of Hope long enough to put her in a cot over night. They'd lain on the bed together, Hope snuggled between them, all three of them dozing at various times while Leo and Grace got proper sleep in their adjoining rooms. Eventually, Hope was getting more and more settled into a routine, and she slept in the cot beside their bed until finally, a further two weeks later, they were being allowed to all go home - the doctors happy enough that both Danny and Hope were well enough.

Steve had spent the morning checking everything was okay. He'd co-opted Chin into helping him do some housework and make sure things were ready in the baby's room. Danny had danced with the doctors, going over his health and Hope's, signing papers, being given all the advice he needed and all the leaflets he could carry about everything. 

He bounced Hope in his arms. She'd not long been fed, and had burped faster than she had before and now she was down for the count though he didn't risk changing how he was holding her in fear of her waking again.

Steve practically burst the door open as he returned, baby car seat in hand ready to load her in.

"Fred! Freddie don't…" Grace's voice carried from the next room and Danny turned on his heel to see his son come running out of the room making a racket as he zoned in on his father at the door, banging into his leg and demanding his attention. 

Steve put down the car seat and bent to grab Leo and swing him up into his arms. "Hey, little buddy, shhhhhh, you'll wake your sister."

Grace's shoulders slumped. "I told him we were going home to the house and he's been hyper ever since. Sorry."

"Well, at least it's not on sugar," Steve said and Grace winced. 

"Does the chocolate bar I shared with him count?" When Steve gave her a look, Danny felt like he was at a tennis match, turning to watch the exchange between them. "He was like a puppy dog with the eyes and I couldn't help it. We were both hungry and couldn't wait until lunch."

Steve turned the same exasperated look onto Danny who mirrored his daughter's shrug. "Five years ago it would have been sour gummies. This is an improvement. Chocolate can be good for you," he tried as an excuse. 

"Cocoa has benefits, yes, but not the way Hershey's makes it," Steve shook his head.

"That's not stopped you in the past," Danny mumbled as an aside, thinking about various applications of Hershey's chocolate syrup. He was just loud enough for Steve to hear and he blushed and moved the conversation on while Danny hid a grin in a kiss to the top of Hope's head. 

"We'll stop at Kamekona's on the way, alright?" At everyone's mostly silent agreement, he continued. "Okay then, let's go."

Steve lifted the heaviest of the collection they'd amassed living there the last few weeks. Grace helped with some of the bulkier stuff and Danny slung some lighter bags over his shoulders and carried Hope in her car seat. She fussed a little, but kept her eyes closed as they made their way out into the fresh air. 

Grace rode in front with Steve while Danny was relegated to the back seat with Leo and Hope, ostensibly there to keep an eye on them but as far as Grace was concerned, it was because she'd called shotgun before he'd had the chance. 

Climbing out at the beach, Steve was instantly beside him making sure Hope was happy in Danny's arms and suitably attired for being out in the sun. Danny had seen this streak of care in Steve before, but considering just how tiny Hope still was, Steve was fussing like crazy while Danny just stood and held her. 

"Never too early to start eating at Kamekona's," the big man regaled them as he greeted them, a single finger of his dwarfing Hope's hand, hell, almost her entire arm, as he bent to say hello to her. "Best shrimp on the Island, and baby-friendly, too."

"She can't eat shrimp yet, Shamu," Danny told him. 

"Nah," Kamekona shook his head. "Kid looks hungry. Shrimp is full of good things to help keikis grow up big and strong."

"Your brand of big and strong isn't what I had in mind for this little one. Thanks, though," Danny stipulated, while Kamekona narrowed his eyes, unsure if he'd just been insulted or not. He turned to where Steve was loading a tray up with lunch. "I thought we were getting this to go?"

Steve just shrugged as he handed one tray to Grace. "Chin said the gang's all on the way for theirs, too. Figured we could all eat together."

Danny bounced Hope in his arms as her big eyes looked around the place, taking in the bright colors and the sounds of the ocean. She seemed content outside in the sea air (something they'd have words about once she was older) and he relented to Grace's pleas to stay as well and the way Leo bounced around copying her. "Okay, fine, but we can't stay too long. She'll be ready for a feeding soon and then nap time."

"Can't you just feed her here?" Grace asked. 

"Well, yeah, I guess. But if she gets fussy, it's better to do it in a more controlled environment. She's still very small."

Hope stayed in Danny's arms while Steve wolfed down his food, then they swapped around so Danny could eat, too. By the time Chin, Kono and Lou arrived, Danny was almost finished and each of them took turns holding the baby and cooing over her. She lapped up the attention, eyes big and open.

"So how are you doing now?" Chin asked Danny as he handed Hope to Lou, who's face lit up as he held her. 

Danny wiped his hands on a napkin and threw it into his now empty lunch container. "Exhausted."

"I'll bet. You've got your hands full," Kono said.

"Four kids will do that to you," Danny answered. 

"You're counting me again, aren't you," Steve shook his head. 

"Always," Danny answered before turning to kiss Steve's shoulder."Anyway, I don't remember the last time I slept. Don't do it, guys. Just don't. Live your lives, sleep, eat, drink, have some you time."

"You're telling me that if you got pregnant again, you wouldn't be happy to raise another one?" Chin asked, eyebrow raised. 

Danny glanced at Steve and felt himself blush as Steve gave a quirk of a smile. He wanted to ignore the question but that would be too obvious. He hadn't told anyone yet about what had happened and that he couldn't have more kids even if he wanted to, which he didn't. It would take a while to get over what had happened during Hope's birth, even without the hysterectomy.

"I think I'll stick to raising the ones we have already," he reached down beside himself to pull Leo onto his lap. The boy had been squirming around already, antsy about sitting down for so long and Kamekona didn't have any high chairs to contain him. He reached for Leo's hands, catching them where they were waving around and took more of the napkins from the pile on the table and began to clean him off. Sticky hands and mouth were wiped of debris before he moved onto baby wipes that Grace had looked out of the bag for him. 

The more he wiped over Leo's face, the more he began to react to it, crying out a little and screwing his little face up as he cried, only for his tears to stop immediately after Danny finished and handed him his favorite stuffed octopus to play with. He gave Leo to Steve, lifting him under his arms and depositing him on Steve's lap when he noticed just how much Hope was beginning to make pitiful sounds while Lou held her. 

"Okay, what time is it?" he asked as he took his daughter back and held her closer, her head cradled on his chest and he could feel her snuffling around, hungry.

"About one thirty," Steve answered as he held Leo with one arm and the other began rooting around inside the bag for what Danny was going to need.

"I told you we should have got the food to go, we won't make it back home in time, she'll be screaming the place down in a minute as it is," Danny argued with him. 

"Relax, it's perfectly fine to feed her here," Steve helped Danny get the strap around his head and the prepared bag onto his lap while the others watched. He tried not to blush or look uncomfortable but it was difficult not to.

Danny had wanted to be home for this because he wasn't a fan of breastfeeding in public. The principle was fine and he had no problem with people doing it in front of him or the whole concept of it being perfectly natural. It's just that as a guy, and considering the rarity of a man giving birth therefore the rarity of seeing a lactating man, he knew people would look, curiosity getting the better of them. He didn't like being stared at. Not to mention that when Leo was born he'd lived in the Clinic in New York for the first six months of Leo's life and then once they were in Hawaii he'd switched pretty quickly to bottles so that Steve could feel more equal. He'd never really done this in front of people who weren't doctors or family and there were strangers on the beach in front of them and people sitting at tables eating their lunch.

He was just glad that he hadn't grown more 'feminine' breasts each time. There was a little bulge, sure, and that would go away again once he was able to step back up into a more vigorous exercise routine, but right now it was enough to still make him self-conscious.

The bag he was using to help was filled with a formula type substance with more nutrients in it, since men's milk wasn't as good as a woman's… and that right there was an inferiority complex he refused to have, it was just fact. Probably came from the lack of real breast tissue or something, but he was no scientist. He just knew that in the modern age, they'd developed tools to help when men breastfed.

He looked around them, trying to gauge the attention. "Maybe there's a bathroom or… I could go to the car for this."

"Would you stop?" Steve asked as he continued to get the bag sitting right around Danny's neck and start opening his shirt so he could tape the small tube in place. "It's nothing to worry about. She needs fed, end of."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts," Steve got his phone out to make note of it all, then leaned in for a quick kiss. "She needs fed, that's the most important thing right now."

"Okay just, guys if you're uncomfortable or anything," he began but the others fobbed him off as well and he admitted defeat on the whole thing. Maybe it wasn't so bad. It was natural, the baby came first and if anyone had any issues about what he was doing they could go to hell. Plus, it helped that they were Five-0 and no one would likely want to pick that kind of a fight with them. 

He lifted Hope into a better position for her to start suckling at both him and the little tube and then he grabbed one of the small towels and partially covered himself up, just to be on the safe side. He winced a little as she latched on too tightly and he lifted her head a little more. "Careful, honey, don't break Danno."

Steve wrapped his spare arm around Danny's waist and kissed against his head, lips pressing and a few times, making kiss-slurp noises. Leo pushed his arms between them and cuddled into Danny's side. "Bean food."

"Leo, you need to be careful too," Danny warned him as Leo began patting his hand against Hope. "Leave her alone for now, okay?"

"I'll take him," Grace volunteered quickly. "We'll go play on the slide and stuff," she pointed over to the kids play area and Leo got excited enough to happily toddle off with her. 

"I think the lovey-dovey stuff puts her off," Kono pointed out as Danny realized just how close Steve was. Not that this was the first time Steve got himself as involved as possible as Danny fed Hope, it's just that maybe he was actually noticing it now from other people's point of view and how it looked. Steve was as close as he could be, an arm around Danny, the other helping cradle Hope and he had his head over Danny's shoulder and a look in his eyes that was pure love and affection. 

He wondered if he just hadn't noticed before or if he had and had just come to expect it somehow. Either way he kicked himself for taking advantage of it and leaned his head more into Steve's for a moment. 

Hope made some small gurgling sounds, and took large gulps of air into her tiny lungs as she kept feeding. Steve kept track of how long she was going and how full the attached bag was, trying to work out how much she was taking, if it was in proportion to how much she was getting from Danny. 

For his part, Danny left the maths and the tracking to Steve. He enjoyed it and was good at it and Danny was too tired most of the time to worry about more than whether or not his nipples were hurting. 

He tried to encourage Hope to have a little more, but her mouth kept lifting away and her head turned more into Danny to shield her eyes as she grew tired and full. He had to give up and hope she'd had enough to tide her over until her next scheduled feeding and he lifted her straighter and rubbed her back while Steve helped him disentangle himself from the tubing. 

She fussed, her head rubbing over Danny's shoulder as he bounced her, trying to help dislodge the air and her face was screwed up tightly in her discomfort but he didn't seem to be getting very far. 

"Let me try," Steve offered and took her from Danny, allowing him to cover up again, buttoning up his shirt and righting himself once more. She snuffled against him, giving out some plaintive wails but eventually Steve seemed to get into some kind of rhythm that helped her and there was no way Danny was going to interrupt it if she'd settled a bit more. 

"I'm going to check on Grace and Leo," he said quickly, wanting to escape any comments from the rest of the team who had continued with their lunch and kept up easy conversation. It was clear that they didn't want Danny to feel uncomfortable and had tried overly hard and the whole thing had circled around between awkward and not. He felt giving everything a few minutes peace was the best option. 

He reached the play area in enough time to catch Leo coming down the slide. "Danno up! Danno up!" he chanted until Danny lifted him into his arms. 

"Having fun?"

"Yes!" Leo answered, nodding and smiling. 

"Did you go on the swing?"

"Yes!"

"And the slide?"

"Yes. Sli-sli."

"What do you want to go on now?"

"Sing!"

"You've been on the swing already," he reminded Leo.

"Sing sing sing sing…. sing…." Leo's hands reached out in the direction of the swing set and his legs kicked against Danny's side wanting to go back down. Once his feet hit the ground he was off with Danny and Grace in pursuit. 

Danny lifted him into the seat, getting his legs through the gap of the baby swing and he began to push gently, Leo making 'wheee' noises as he enjoyed himself. 

"How come Uncle Steve is being so…. you know. Lately."

"You'll need to be more specific," Danny asked Grace as they stood together while Leo laughed and giggled in front of them. 

"The way he is with you and Hope. The way he's all… romantic."

"You mean how attentive he is?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "He never used to be so full on or… obvious."

"Let me tell you something and it might surprise you. But even before Steve and I were a couple, he's always been very physical in his affection. I think he just never did anything in front of you so much, and certainly not until we were together and more than that, that you knew about us and we were secure enough in our family. He's relaxed a lot since he met us. You know we're the good influences in his life. The people who made him less of a soldier and more of a human being again."

"He did stop keeping grenades in the car," she mused. 

"It helped once he had Leo to think about. And that he got to know and love you more. He's learned to think about how kids work and how careful he needs to be. That is a plus in my book. And a lot of that, monkey, is down to you. You helped teach him. Paved the way for him to have more of a family and do it right."

"Thanks, dad."

"You're welcome, monkey," he knocked his shoulder against hers - she was getting taller by the minute and still hadn't stopped - and they smiled as they pushed Leo again. "Steve is just a lot more comfortable in himself and with us to show how he feels. That's all."

"Excuse me, I'm so sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to say how adorable your little baby is," a slightly older woman said from nearby. There was a boy playing on the bigger swings who looked about maybe 7 or 8 years old and must have been this woman's grandson. "Is that your husband?" She pointed over to where Steve was with the rest of them, Hope back in her car seat and likely sleeping while Steve's arm stayed inside by her.

"Uh, he's my partner, yes," Danny responded. 

"Did you give birth to all of them? I've never heard of a man being able to give birth successfully to so many children."

"I carried the youngest two," he replied, trying to be polite but really not wanting to have the conversation. These things could get awkward, more so since he'd been in Hawaii. In New York or in New Jersey people kept to themselves, but in Hawaii there was more reverence and spirituality that revered what Danny's body had been capable of. It made people more likely to comment.

"Our little one has shown signs of being able. Doctors won't test to be sure until he's older. I'll be honest, it scares me. You hear about so many things going wrong. It's nice to know that success is possible," she gave him a look. There was a smile in it but one that seemed deeper, of gratitude. It made him feel strange as he hadn't done anything special in his own eyes. Not in the births and certainly not just now by breastfeeding Hope and then pushing Leo on a swing. Certainly nothing that could help put this woman's mind at ease. He understood her fears all too well - had seen similar in the eyes of his own mother. And she looked at him like everything had been a success for him but he'd gone through so much in his two births and he didn't have the heart to give her any reason to worry more about what her son might one day go through himself. 

"I'm sure once he's older, medical science will have improved even further," he said. "A good support structure is important too. He won't be able to do anything alone," he reminder her and she gave a gentle nod and a quiet thanks and a 'bless you' before moving off to be with her grandson again. 

Danny pulled Leo out of the swing, his attention span having moved onto something else. He made his way to a tunnel under the slide and clambered in, elbows down and pulling himself in one leg at a time and then stomping around inside the hollow, listening to the echoes. Danny made his way to the other end of it to wait for Leo coming out, but Leo just gave him a cheeky grin, one that spoke volumes and that he definitely got from his idiotic father and he jumped around and back to the other end. 

Danny stood straight and sighed, heading back where he'd come from the few steps to the start of the tunnel only for Leo to repeat it again, laugh at Danny's attempts to coax him out and stomp to the other side.

"Leo, come on, it's time to go home. You want to go home don't you?" he asked and Leo just stared at him from a little bit inside the tunnel, thinking and being quiet. He seemed torn between his earlier wanting to go home since he hadn't been there in a while, and his enjoyment of playing. 

He finally broke out into the grin again that seemed decidedly evil and cunning to Danny. His giggle echoed inside the tunnel as he jumped in place. 

"Leo, come on. I know that look. I've seen it plenty of times on the face of your miscreant father before he blows things up for fun. Come down from there, we're going home."

"Sli!" Leo pointed above Danny's head to where the top of the slide was.

"No, no slide. We're going back to the car. We're going to get daddy and Bean and all go home. It'll be nap time soon."

Leo just looked at Danny a few moments longer then turned and squatted hands playing over the floor of the tunnel.

"Leo," Danny tried again to get his attention. "Don't make me come in there after you. Leo."

He continued to ignore Danny.

"Leo."

Still nothing, until he stood back up and turned to grin at Danny like he wasn't getting a row.

"Leo." Danny said again, voice deeper and more demanding. "Okay," he said when Leo didn't respond. He reached in, able to grab the back of Leo's top and tugged on it enough to then get his arm and pulled him closer to the edge of the tunnel before whisking him up into his arms amidst Leo's wails of unhappiness.

"Sliiiiii!" Leo cried out and Danny just shook his head and held Leo so he couldn't squirm so much. 

"No more slide. It's time to go home. We need to get Hope her nap. And you can have one too then if you're good later I'll let you watch some Jake."

Leo was still whimpering when they got back to the rest of the gang. Danny dipped his hand into the baby bag and brought out a pacifier, getting it close to Leo's mouth and waiting for him to accept it, quieting him down further. 

"Stubborn as a mule this one," he inclined his head to Leo while talking to everyone. 

"Wonder where he gets that from," Lou commented and Danny shot him a look. 

"Come on, Steve," Danny hit the back of his hand against Steve's shoulder. "Time to go. People have naps to take."

"Including you?"

"If only," Danny said as he waited on Steve to follow with Hope while he strode off with Leo.

*

Danny collapsed on the sofa, shoulder pressing into Steve's as he brought his legs up with him. Steve threw an arm around Danny and cuddled him. 

They'd all had dinner, Hope and Leo were bathed and in bed, Grace was in her room doing homework or texting her friends or whatever it was she was up to now and the two of them were getting a few moments of peace.

Danny sighed. "It's good to be home."

"Yes, it is," Steve agreed. "I still think the Clinic was overly cautious before letting you out."

"I don't blame them. You got so mad at them that there was no way they were going to allow any other kind of complication. The last thing they want is the head of the Governor's task force suing them."

"I wouldn't have sued them."

"Maybe not, but you'd have found something to ruin them, hang over their heads, rip everything apart. That's probably worse than just having to pay out a lot of money to us."

"Exactly," Steve agreed, unrepentant. He brought his own legs up onto the couch as well and they snuggled in to watch the television, but it was only a few minutes until they could hear the crying from their bedroom. "I'll get her," Steve offered, getting to his feet.

He came out a few minutes later with Hope in his arms. 

"Diaper seems fine, I think she's hungry again."

"So soon? I just fed her."

"Maybe she didn't get enough," Steve placed Hope in Danny's arms and wandered away to get the lact-aid bag. 

Danny let his head fall back onto the arm of the sofa. He brought a cushion around and propped himself and Hope up with it and lay waiting for Steve to come back. He was so tired. It had been a long day moving back home.

"I'd do it if I could but I'm not exactly equipped," Steve said, almost making Danny jump. He'd seemed to appear back at their side out of nowhere. He must have closed his eyes for a second. 

He accepted Steve's help in getting settled and then relaxed a little as he watched Hope begin to suckle. "How long until they've all gone to college?"

"Another 18 years," Steve reminded him.

"Oh God, it's such a long time."

Steve kissed the top of his head. "And you're going to love every minute of it."


End file.
